Catholic church spent millions meant for Canada residential school
victims on lawyers & expenses – court documents seen by media
https://www.rt.com/news/530584-catholic-church-millions-residential-school-victims/
Millions of dollars that were supposed to go to Canadian residential
school survivors as part of a 2005 settlement were reportedly spent by
the Catholic Church on lawyers, fundraising, administration costs and
unapproved loans.
At least 150,000 indigenous children were forced to attend some 140
residential schools across the country, which were funded by the federal
government and run by churches. The children had been forcibly taken
from their families in order to strip them of their cultural identity.
Under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA)
between the Canadian federal government, indigenous representatives and
the various church bodies that operated the schools, more than Can$3
billion (US$2.4 billion) has been paid to compensate survivors, as of
March 2021.
While the other churches have apparently paid their amounts-due in full,
the Catholic Church has failed to meet its quota. Besides being required
to make a lump cash payment of Can$29 million (US$23.2 million) and
provide Can$25 million (US$ 20 million) of “in-kind services,” the
church was to give its “best efforts” to raise Can$25 million (US$20
million) for survivors.
The church had claimed to have paid most of the cash amount and
fulfilled its “in-kind services” commitment. In 2015, it invoked the
“best efforts” clause in court where a judge absolved it of the legal
obligation to pay the remaining unpaid sum of $21 million (US$16.8
million) from that fundraising campaign.
In recent weeks, it has emerged that the church was able to raise around
$300 million (US$240 million) for construction and renovation projects
during the same time period that it claimed it could only raise a total
of $3.9 million (US$3.1 million) for residential school survivors.
Now, court documents accessed by CBC news reportedly contradict the
church’s claims. A federal government “factum” document that summarized
the evidence from the 2015 court case pointed to “a large number of
serious accounting discrepancies that are alarming to Canada.”
The church had also not filed its mandatory annual financial statements
to the government until 2012 – five years after IRSSA went into effect
in 2007, according to the documents seen by the CBC.
From the Can$29-million cash payment, some $2.7 million (US$2.1
million) was reportedly paid to lawyers and an additional $2.3 million
(US$1.84 million) was spent on administration expenses – something no
other church group claimed.
As well, Can$1.6 million (US$1.28 million) was claimed as donations made
to projects related to indigenous issues. These projects were not
covered in the approval process and no explanation or invoices have
reportedly been provided to back these claims.
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The church’s accountant testified that it had provided the Can$25
million of “in-kind services” but he had admitted that he relied only on
“minutes of meetings” supplied by church officials.
As for the Can$25-million fundraising campaign that eventually only
raised $3.9 million, the accountant told the court that many donations
came with a “string attached” that instructed him on where to put the
money. This was, again, apparently contrary to the agreement.
Federal government lawyers had also asked the judge to declare the
church had not fulfilled its obligations and order an independent review
of the expenses, among other recommendations.
However, ahead of the 2015 hearing on the case, the judge approved a
controversial $1.2 million (US$962,418) church buyout proposal and the
case was closed without it having to justify any expenditure.
Court officials recently declined to make that 2015 court document
public. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents
First Nations communities in Saskatchewan province, claimed this refusal
was an example of “systemic racism.”
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Like most Euro institutions, the Catholic Church has been consistently
racist when dealing with Brown & Black Catholics.
In India and Africa, the front pews were reserved for white
parishioners, even though they were so few of them.
At the end of Sunday Mass, prayers were held for the conversion of
Russia, not for the end of the racist colonialism practised by the
Christians nations of the West.
Meanwhile, in 2021 the Euro high clerics in the EU (especially Germany)
and the US continue to be lost in child sex abuse.
Where on earth is the Holy Ghost doing? He is meant to protect the
Church - is there such an entity at all?
Isn't it time to dismantle the Catholic Church in its present form?
Eddie Ray DS,
London, England
