-Caveat Lector-
Church Not Apologetic to Quebec Orphans
QUEBEC CITY (Reuters) - The Catholic Church said Wednesday there would be no
apology or compensation for the aging Quebec orphans who claim to have
suffered years of abuse decades ago while under the care of the church.
In a period from the 1930s to the 1950s, the church declared the children
mentally ill in the hopes of getting more funding from the Canadian
government, which paid more for the care of mentally handicapped children
than for orphans.
The orphans, numbering more than 3,000, have said many of them were abused,
sodomized and forced to provide sexual favors as children.
Pierre Morissette, president of the Quebec Assembly of Archbishops, said
Wednesday the matter was delicate because of legal considerations. But he
acknowledged the Church recognized some orphans went through "difficult
situations."
But a full apology would not be forthcoming.
"Such excuses would betray the works of those who dedicated all their lives
to the service of the most destitute," Morissette told a packed news
conference in Cap de la Madeleine, west of Quebec City.
The Orphans were outraged by the announcement.
"This is total hypocrisy. This is a campaign of disinformation. It is
horrible and contemptuous," said Bruno Roy, spokesman of the so-called
association of "Duplessis Orphans".
The "Duplessis Orphans" are named after Maurice Duplessis, the autocratic
premier of the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec at the time. The
Catholic Church has denied that it abused orphans and demanded proof from
the alleged victims.
Many of the children were born to unmarried parents who abandoned them on
the steps of Church-run orphanages out of fear of being ostracized by the
highly religious society of Quebec of the time.
Morissette said no direct financial compensation would be provided by the
Church, but stressed it was open to cooperating with the Quebec government,
which has already offered community aid to the orphans as well as a C$3
million compensation package. The offer was refused by the orphans, who want
a C$100 million compensation fund and a public inquiry.
"We estimate that the Church is already giving a lot and that it will
continue to give more," said Quebec Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, who
stressed the fact the religious communities were the only ones taking care
of orphans in Quebec at the time.
($1-$1.47 Canadian).
Copyright 1999 Reuters . All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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