Thank God for the bravery of the women and the fifth estate for their report on this horrible thing. As a born and raised catholic I firmly beleive that its people such as kelly and others who have started something that cannot be stopped and its about time.

I love my relationship with God and my Faith and I truly beleive that God is smiling on all who bring this out in the open. Its time for change and healing and it will not happen if those who have been abused keep quiet. If others can find the courage just as these women have then we can have the church God intended us to have.

God bless you all and if I can be a part of the healing feel free to contact me!

CBC thinks it is the moral guardian for Canada.

If it could, this left leaning, if not socialist organization, with our tax dollars would burn down every RC Church in the country.

Nice try ... but more people attend Sunday Mass on Sunday at 8AM than watch this "Broadcaster" Primetime during the week.

Sorry CBC ... (Oh ... do you still have your "Smoking Room" in your tax payer funded Downtown Toronto Office)

Thank heavens for people that are brave enough to come forward and expose those with higher power status. It is this element of power and control over those more vulnerable that attracts perpetrators to their positions of trust. It is silence and taboos about sexuality that allow perpetrators to get children to be quiet, and keep abuse a secret.

Anne Marie MacDonald's novel "The Way the Crow Flies" hits us hard with this reality. We need to acknowledge victims' feelings of betrayal,confusion, and shame. When parents and schools openly teach healthy sexuality from preschool on, children are less likely to be targeted.

As adults we need to be askable, to listen to children, be attuned to what they are trying to tell us, either with words or through behaviour. As a society we must be able to openly question those in powerful positions.

I watched the rebrodast about Fr. Sylvestre with interest. Sexual misconduct in the catholic church continues today, and it is not contained to children.

During a mission trip to Africa, sponsored by a Canadian mission group, I was raped by an African priest. After reporting his sexual misconduct to the bishop and to my superiors, I was brought home, and he was "reassigned".

I was sent for therapy at a facility for priests and religious (although I was not one) that even had priests in treatment there for sexual misconduct. This was supposed to make me feel comfortable. The mission group continues to support the diocese where I was raped even though no repurcussions were handed out, and I was left to sort things out on my own. I don't think the Catholic Church has learned a thing (maybe to cover things up better).

My heart goes out to Kelly Anne on being strong in coming out with the truth not only about Sylvestre but also her feelings about the so call Roman Catholic Church.

I, myself, was a devoted Catholic - but you know I always felt close to God but always felt not trusting the Church ever since I was a little girl. I went to Mass everyday in Lent, had Communion went to confession and did everything that was expected from me. Now I feel like so many people being betrayed by the Church of allowing this man to do what he did and the Church looking the other way. I believe I was betrayed even though I was not abused but mentally abused by believing in the Church. How can someone take this so lightly.

Yes, the Catholic Church needs to change big time but I feel it is too late for them. They are losing ground and people should take other avenues in their religious preferences. How can I go back and trust the Church again, and again and again since they will not change. I feel priests should have the choice in wanting to get married and have a family. They are missing so much.

Having women more involved in the Church will keep the Church honest, would also be a plus and have the right to marry and have children and family. This can go on and on and you know I do miss going to Church for God but you know I cannot be a hypocrite - all I am going to do is believe in my God and pray for the good things in life in my own heart.

Yes I am disappointed in the Church right up to the Pope's level - it is about time that people run the Church not the priests, bishops, cardinal and the Pope. Other congregations don't need all these people to run their Church. People and their needs come first in the eyes of God.

How can the Roman Catholic Church support so many men in the system? Can you imagine how much money it takes for them to survive and have salaries? I really do not want to know. We all have had to support ourselves. Lot of these people (priest, bishop,cardinal, Pope included) have it made, with a roof over their heads and food in the bellies made by their own private cooks, for what.

I am sorry, I have changed about the Church but I still Love my God. By the way to make things even worse our so call Catholic Church will be closing my Church (St. Christopher) because our priest is retiring and the Church has no one to replace him and because the Church is not bringing in enough money to support it. After 57 years it will be gone - we are not the only one but many Churches will be forced to close as well.

Another devastating change - the wrong one of course. This should be another subject to be brought out of the woodwork. To the survivors - good luck, the worst is over and it is now time to go beyond your grief and time to heal. My heart goes out to everyone of you. God Bless.
Lisette

As I watched the program I found it hard to accept the responses put forward by the defenders of the Church. Since the days of Martin Luther, the church hasn't changed much when it comes to looking reality in the eye. To boil it down, this amounts to a matter of a different indulgence.

The explanation given that celibate men do not understand about sexuality(?) does not wash. We all know the difference between right and wrong; for most of us, the conscience kicks in when we cross the line. Our sexuality is a part of each one of us that cannot be denied; to act as though it isn't so only serves to negate God's work of creation.

For a church official to boldly claim that matters such as these were looked at differently in former days really amounts to hiding one's head in the sand, and appears to be no more than an attempt to discredit the victims. Sadly, they are trivializing a traumatic experience, treating it as if it were merely a virus going around. It's also putting the reputation of the church ahead of the needs of people.

Unfortunately, as long as there are people who are content to sweep wrongs under the proverbial rug, such despicable acts as sexual abuse will enjoy opportunity and even possible sanction.

The Church gods-(Bishops-The Vatican) should be damned for keeping pedophiles amidst the congregations and having unlimited access to children. They carry out their devious deeds under the guise of their church robes giving the presence of a holy man. Give me a break its not bad enough to keep these predators but to move them around is unthinkable.

The widespread damage to children and their families is painful to say the least. If you can't trust the priests what do you have, nothing. Not all priests are sexual predators but they have a lot of work building up the trusts so damaged by snakes such as Sylvestre. Heaven knows the Vatican should take all measures to remove any clergy from the general public if they are suspected of harming anyone in their church. They should be put into a home just for deviates such as them.

Enough ranting I was just so angry as I am a victim from the Infamous Indian Residential Schools across Canada, who suffered for over almost 40 years because I too was sexually abused by a brother(x2) I am finally coming to terms with it, but the biggest problem is trying to heal mentally and physically.

I was an altar boy for over 4 years and was a regular practising catholic, now I still believe in God but have no church. My faith in the church is guarded until such a time I know their is utmost personal safety for all those who partake is church activities. Hats off to CBC for airing this documentary.

While I enjoyed the documentary and all it worked to achieve, I must admit as someone who has been at the hands of several pedophiles - that I found one statement so overwhelming it was like getting kicked in the stomach. That statement was:

"I honestly believe in some cases it might have been more charitable for Father Sylvestre to put a gun to their head and pull the trigger than do what he did."

I understand that the individual that said this, and the CBC by airing it, were trying to convey the impact of sexual abuse on people. What that individual and the CBC might not *get* is how diminishing that comment is to some of us that have spent our lives working on moving forward.

We were all victims, but my wish is that the media doesn't forget about all the survivors who struggle to maintain hope for a better future, and how airing comments like this can negatively affect the people you are trying to help.

I am not better off dead.

I was not to impressed by the father sylvester documentary, these men who we call priests are not God they are humans who have sin just like us , how can these people walk away from their God, if there is any time they need God it is now!

My mother was sexually abused by her father and the only way she could get on with her life is to forgive him this is what truly set her free. i pray for the victims that they find Christ in their suffering, that they come to a understanding that these evil acts do not come from GOd.

As a former CBC Radio Drama Producer, I was relieved to see this programme at a time when the like of Hanna Gartners's work continues and that there is at least an admission by the laity of the extent of sexual abuse within the Church exacerbated by its covert methods of investigion ands ettlements if made at all.

There is little likelihood that the next Papacy,or the one after that will will bring about sufficient dialogue between clergy and laity to effect meaningful changes unless the laity demand them.

A response from another of Sylvestre's victims.

I am glad that the fifth estate chose to cover this story, however, I wish they could have conveyed better the absolute gut-wrenching feelings that most felt in the court room last summer as we heard detail upon detail of the numerous lives that Sylvestre and the church devastated. This 'show' came nowhere close to describing what happened to many of us over the past year within the criminal system let alone the past 30 years of our lives.

For once I will say that the Americans know how to do something better than us. I am glad the story was not sensationalized, but more hard hitting facts, stories, and emotions would have driven the point home to those who have never experienced such an incredible, surreal state of affairs. If more of the story was told, the public would be up in arms. Sadly, I am disappointed that our story will just lay there and play dead, only to allow the church's status quo to quietly step over us and continue on their way.

For Catholics and non-Catholics alike, I suggest viewing the Oscar nominated documentary ‘Deliver Us from Evil’, written and directed by Amy Berg. It successfully covers, in depth, the various stages of pain victims experience at the hands of abusive clergy, how the families of victims are affected, and what it feels like to have your faith ripped apart while the church continues to turn a blind eye to pedophile priests. And it will make all of us a bit more protective of our innocent children, even in places that are deemed ‘safe’.

Kelly Ann…...you are courageous for allowing the public a glimpse into the life of a clergy abuse survivor and how a life altering childhood situation looks and feels like today…..after all these years.

(First of all, I agree with George Osicki above.)

I just watched the documentary and am disgusted by what Fr.Sylvestre did. At the same time, only the intellectually honest critics will bear in mind that not all Catholic priests are corrupt. There may be people who watch this documentary and decide that religion is a waste of time, and point to the TV and say "see? that's why I'm not religious" or "that's why I'm going to stop going to church." My point is that the documentary paints the Catholic Church as an organization with poor morals and corruption. Bear in mind that it is only a small number of priests who are corrupt, and that every religion and organization will have it's share of bad apples in the bunch - but that does not mean that all the apples are bad.

many will not be remembered
many have buried their names, their "shame".
11 priests in an small Ontario city
convicted and jailed... we feel no pity.

years and years it went on
did any of these priests even KNOW GOD?????????
little boys, little girls honored to be chosen
then used for sex...their lives forever frozen.

i believe in God and that the Devil rules the earth
all the wickedness and sin, where do we begin??
don't turn away Kelly-Anne, God's our only hero
he hates your pain, he hates the crime
but i am sure.. those priests... will do eternal time

Thank you to the victims of this nightmare for stepping forward. It gives hope and encouragement for others to step forward in dealing with their own situations of abuse.

And to the Fifth Estate, well done as usual. This is an issue that needs to be fully exposed, fully discussed, and fully addressed.

Churches should not be covering up these pedophile/pervert/priests what so ever, nor should anyone else be allowed to do so.

As for bias? It can really boil down to a simple question - are you on the side of the pedophile priests, the church, and others who allowed this to happen or the victims?

Fifth Estate certainly helps one to decide for themselves what side they might want to choose in exposing this vile web of crimes, deceit and wicked betrayal. I'm with the victims in my support of them.

And for the church or anyone else to complain about the lawsuits or money being spent to address this ring of pedophiles - they should have thought of that before they allowed these monsters to be silently moved all around the country. May justice for the victims prevail!

How do I know whether anything happened at the Church/School I went too? I guess I'll never know.

A few years back the TV programme "Disclosure" reported the case of the Swales Brothers in London, Ontario. It seemed that the show was abruptly ended after that episode. Mark Kelly and Diane Sweeney did an excellent job on this report. Now severl years later Hana Gartner's expose on "Fifth Estate" presented another episode of this horrific problem in the Catholic Church.

The Task Force (a force in operation for several years) formed to solve the problem of clergy-sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, headed by Weisberger, still has not dis-covered the important facts and figures which will impact their committment to eradicate priest enablers and perpetrators who prey on children. The priest enablers are still not accountable for slipping these perpetrators from one diocese to another. Have we heard the names of enablers yet? I find this outrageous. The zero tolerance in these cases, which is supposedly in effect now, must come from the hierarchy in charge. Isn't it a shame that it takes legal action and media-coverage to expose this poisonous problem before the hierarchy of the Catholic Church gives attention to the cavlier ignorance they have practised towards victims. Seeminly, perpetrators and enablers have the protection of the Church.

God Bless the survivor/victims who have the courage to come forward.

I have had difficult over the past few years supporting a church who could not and more importantly, would not support it's loyal followers. When I think back to my childhood, my parents were devout Catholics. Were a priest to have selected me as one of his "chosen", were he to want to pray with me privately - it would have been as if God himself had chosen me. My parents would have been delighted and blessed beyond reason. I am disgusted by the Church I was raised in, embarrassed and ashamed of their denials and out-right lies. My parents continue to be staunch Catholics. They are in their 80's and I do not have the heart to tell them that their weekly contributions are partially paying for the defence and lawsuits of pedophile priests. Although I continue to believe in God, I no longer believe in the Catholic Church in any way. I will not support nor condone it's practices. I will not contribute one single nickel to the collection plate. Perhaps the only plausible solution is for the Catholic Church to completely crumble and rebuild. Even then, I am not certain that I would support it. It is not so much the acts themselves that disgust me, as the cover up by high ranking members of the Church, right up to the Pope himself. Perhaps that is the most difficult part to swallow. At any rate, I no longer consider myself "Catholic". I will never again be "Catholic".

Michael; Windsor. Good post.

I'm sure many, likely to many to even count have kept hushed, mouth zipped etc. It's sad but true!
I'll never forget how I was brave enough to report what i knew to be wrong, very wrong! even in my young 10/11 yr old eyes, only to be taken into the nursing station at St Thomas d'Aquin school in Bluewater, and then to be interragated by all, like some criminal. The school principle, a nun at that, which half of us were scared to death of to begin with, not to mention that at least half of our teachers were nuns. That did not make it any easier on any of us girls to confide in. Especially when it came to their precious father Sylvestre. In their eyes he could do no wrong. After all he was our priest, the closest thing to God. We the girls must've been wrong, surely we must have misunderstood his good intentions etc etc. Everyone in denial i guess, especially the nuns...Makes my blood boil just thinking about it all again, even after so many years.

Hats off to The Fifth Estate for the coverage.
Very Well done!

As someone who has worked with many victims of abuse by priests, "The Good Father" did an accurate job of airing the issues associated with a priest betraying a child and his church. I think it also showed that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops remains remiss in establishing agreed upon guidelines and a stratagy to address this problem.

While I understand that each diocese is a "kingdom unto itself" and they really don't know how bad the problem is; the American Conference of Bishops who have the same structure managed to conduct an independant study that showed that the problem was even worse than they thought or had previously acknowledged. The bishops then created policies that they all agreed to enforce. While many will acknowledge the Bishops are not always compliant, it was a start.

My other question is where is the Canadian Catholic's voice on this issue? In the U.S., a major movement of lay Catholics has organized a national advocacy group called "Voice of the Faithful". Their goal is to support victims of abuse by clergy and support priests of integrity. Please note that Father Tom Doyle (the first recipient of an award of courage by this group) who appeared in this show is based in the U.S. Where are those voices of Canadian priests of integrity? Where are the voices of outraged Catholics and support for victims? The silence is deafening.

It is a situation that needs to change. If "the people are the church", the silence seems to indicate their acceptance of the church's actions. Please don't abandon the victims once more.

I think after some 15 years of study on this issue ( through my own private foundation ), I greatly appreciate this documentary. However, it is still not objective reporting. I do not know if I can explain briefly , but let me try.

Any area of humna endeavor be it business , politics , or religion can be criticized. What is missing here is not fully presenting the positive side of what the RC Church is trying to do and in doing so is , like any human institution , making some extremely serious mistakes.

If the reporting has some sense of trying to do society some good , to report on the victims is not good in fairness. There are no saints among us , and to present one side is unfair. That is , you can say you presented two sides - the victims and the Church. Well , that is still not it - you presented on side of the public - the victims , and one side of the Church - those unwilling to change . That is , you presented to polar opposites and that definitely is not what the community of religious peoples is all about .

Does this make sense OR do the producers not really care anymore for the program has already aired ?

You have damaged , to whatever extent , the potential for dialogue and all concerned have to continue to deal with it and The Fifth Estate simply goes on to their next program.

If I receive no response to these comments , then , it seems fair to me to conclude that I am right. You might only care for a moment to try to do the best , not objectively , and then " I am too busy " and you carry on. In this manner you have made more victims , like myself , who detests what the victims went through , works at trying to make institutions like the Church better , but you increased the bias.

How many favours were owed, collected and paid back handsomely by Sylvestre and the Catholic Church for the silence of those who knew - or were wilfully blind - to what he was doing to these completely innocent children ?
Did religion play any part in previous police bungling - or coverup ?
How many teachers were told keep their mouths shut or risk losing their jobs ?
How many promotions did the silence of School Board officials buy ? Why are rumours running rampant of their notes and records being destroyed as the recent police investigation became known ?
Who protected Sylvestre and what did they gain ?
How many suspicious parents now realize their worst fears were actually well-founded ?
Why does the Church insist on maintaining the first defence of deny, delay and deflect.....still ?
This matter should not be considered closed simply because the Preying Priest is dead.
Sadly, the only thing that seems to have any effect on the Church are lawsuits - and perhaps those nets should be cast much wider and include those who knew and hid it.

Where do I begin????..

The show was an excellent "eye" opener for those of us...(Catholics)......to stand up.....and make our Church ..be accountable for it's actions !!!!..

I hang my head in shame...for what has been done to innocent children by former Priests...in the name of God!!!....it turns my stomach to even think of it!!!!!

While growing up in the 50's in a very strong Catholic home....where we would kneel every evening to say the rosary...I wonder ...as I think back to those times......how did our parents let this type of thing happen???.....
It was easy.....because they..(our parents) came from a generation where the Catholic Faith was the bee all and end all of everything.....the Church was always right ...so ...don't even think of "questioning" anything that you may have thought was wrong!!!...And....now we have the result of not "questioning" the Church!!!!

I am one of those "non" practicing Catholics....who had been "thinking" that maybe I was being to harsh in my judgment of all the things I see in my church.. as an adult...that has been let slide !...

I had some hope that maybe with the election of a new Pope that we could go on...to a new road....open the door for healing & forgiveness....and try to heal our Church....but....that hope died when Pope Benny was elected....it will take another Pope to heal this mess....because Pope Benny is to darn interested in showing off his "expensive" red shoes...than even thinking of trying to fix the wrongs that are very evident to all people!...
The end result is....a Church that is dying...it's flock are "waking" up...and are not going to take it anymore......the numbers at Sunday Mass are way down....the money in the basket is way down ( and any money that is collected is used to pay lawyers of the Priests who have been charged)!!!.....and buildings are closing left...right and center ....

It's a pity ...for sure....but...until the Church takes ownership of these horrible acts..and do right by all the victims ..it will continue to fall!

Thank you Hannah for such a heart wrenching story...and a big
Thank You" to the survivors in the story....may you find peace and love in your heart....I am sorry for what has happened to each of you by the very people we "trusted"......I am sorry that no one had reacted sooner...to stop what was done to you!!....

God Bless all of you!

Thank you Fifth Estate for opening the public eyes to what is going on with the catholic church and how they are getting away with ruining peoples lives and not being properly dealt with. I think the catholic church is nothing but a legal organized mafia and those Priests/Bishops/Pope that walk around in those creepy clothes, saying they are the next closest thing to god makes me sick. When is the catholic church going to wake up and allow the priest to marry? How can a priest give advice to a married couple when they have no experience being married? When is the catholic church going to wake up to the 21st century? There must be justice.

Since the Roman Catholic Diocese of London began closing some of its churches a few years back, some area Catholics have been whispering about a secularist "freemasonic conspiracy" to destroy the diocese, and ultimately the entire Catholic Church in Canada.

As the facts about the extent of the sexual corruption
and the conspiracy of silence among the local clergy come to light, however, it appears the real reason for
the downsizing of area churches is a shortage of funds due to the legal settlements with the victims of the pedophile priests.

Despite Bishop Fabro's heartfelt public appology, the
diocese priests continue to regard the subject of sexual abuse as a taboo. When explaining the reasons for the recent church closures to parishoners the clergy cite the old mantra about the shortage of priests...

Whether it's moral for the abuse victims to attempt to
financially ruin the institution whose leaders had hurt
and failed them is another issue altogether.

I hope some day the catholic religion can admit to it's mistakes and ask for forgiveness of all the victims of abuse by priests. For their leaders to allow this to go on and hide the pedophiles or move them so they could continue makes them just as guilty in my book. I grew up going to church but stopped going as a result of these very actions. I cannot support an organization that willingly hides these monsters and prevents them from being prosecuted. I pray for the victims that they may heal someday and live as normal a life as possible.

The fourth estate is to be highly commended!

The women who survived their ordeals and lived to talk about it are modern martyrs, nearly destroyed by a criminal enterprise pretending to be the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong. My heart aches for them even as I identify with them. Their strength fills me, and I, in turn share mine with them.

It's interesting that Fabbro 'found' files that had been 'lost' or 'misfiled' only AFTER multiple lawsuits had been filed. Credibility? None.

It's equally interesting that Sylvestre's chosen victims were all women. The bishops blame homosexuality as the cause for the crisis. Credibility? None.

I am an American survivors of (heterosexual) priest abuse, 1952. Last week, 54 years later, I was finally brave enough to file a police report in the county where my abuse occurred. That report is now a matter of public record.

BRAVO, Hana, BRAVO, fourth estate and BRAVO to everyone who stands for truth and justice!

Kay Goodnow
"We are the ones we have been waiting for."
-- Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona

This sad story further diminishes what little faith I have in the church.As an institution it has once again failed miserably,and as this documentary clearly demonstrates,rather than being a force for honesty and truth,it is quite the opposite.To commit crimes of this magnitude against the most defenseless among us,and in the house of God,is simply staggering.I hope that this program can provide some healing for the victims who have been so severely scarred,and that it opens the door for others to come forward so that the other Sylvestres who are still in hiding can be discovered and be dealt with accordingly.

As someone who was also victimized by a priest, and who has yet to come forward and tell their story, I send my thank yous to everyone who participated in presenting this story. Thank you to the courageous women who allowed their voices to be heard and thank you to CBC for airing such a sensitive issue with such frankness.

I have looked forward to this documentary since August 2006 when the interest in the story began. I am one of the victims and was also featured in the Fifth Estate story.
I would like to begin by saying the final documentary was very artisitic. The scenes of Kelly-Anne walking in a shadow down the aisle of the church...
My struggle with the show is that I understood Fifth estate to be an investigative news program. While a very nicely presented show with lots of pictures from the past, it lacked the hard core news element and truly neglected the impact on all the victims. What I was left feeling was the show focused on one resulting aspect of abuse - the disillusionment with the Catholic church. While this is an important consideration it is not capture the pervasive devastation suffered by the victims as a result of this abuse. Looking at the investigative aspect I am very disappointed. The website highlights some of the good investigative journalism that was done which the show lacked. The focus needed to be on the role of the Catholic church and its employees in perpetuating the abuse. The cover up by many police departments over the years not just in Sarnia. Unfortunately Catherine and Hana you need to do this one again.

Thank you for sharing this story last night. Even though this experience is an extremely painful & vile real life story, it must be told! As a wavering-practicing Catholic it cuts to the core of my existence to comprehend the pain experienced by the families. I only pray that someone (leadership) within the Church would have the courage and openness to offer up their sins of "complete truth" to these families. They deserve it! The sins of omission don’t allow the pain to ever subside or allow for healing. The Church knows what is right and therefore we must convince the leadership to have the same courage, without reservation, to come forward just like the children and their families did to prevent this abomination from continuing.

I come from the St. John's area of Newfoundland, where the memories of Mt. Cashel are still fresh. I watched the program last night, taking particular note of the similarities regarding how the church heirarcy hid and enabled the activities of these men.

In the eighties when the lid was being blown off Mt. Cashel, I remember thinking that the Catholic church is the perfect sanctuary for sexual deviants. It is not until they get rid of this nonsense known as the "vow of celibacy" and allow priests to marry that they have any hope of getting normal, healthy, well-adjusted men to become clergy.

I know that this behavior is not limited to the Catholic church. Pedophelia is in all churches as it is in all professions; doctors, lawyers, hockey coaches, etc. It does, however, seem to be more concentrated in the Catholic church, and I can see only one reason for that. A pedophile can operate with impunity and even be revered by his congregation, despite the heinous acts that he perpetrates. There is an unlimited bounty of children to prey on, and nobody expects them to be "normal", i.e. have a healthy relationship with a woman. Also, they refuse to ordain women, who seem to have less tendencies toward pedophelia.

If the Vatican really wants this scourge to end once and for all, they should allow their priests to marry, outlaw this nonsense of celibacy, and ordain ordinary men (and women) who are called to the service of God.

It has been evident for years that the priesthood , by virtue of its male dominated "celibate" lifestyle and power within the community , was and obviously still is a safe haven for some individuals who for whatever reasons don't " fit it ". Sylvester was one of them. The congregations at Sunday mass are getting smaller and smaller every week and no wonder.

What an enormous amount of courage,character and compassion people like Kelly Anne Appleton have to want to make things better and right. We're behind you.

The show last night caught my attention as I am currently coming to terms with previously unrecalled childhood sexual abuse and it's knocked my world for a loop!I had some thoughts... Considering the lack of cooperation by the Church, why are the police not bringing charges of obstruction and complicity, en masse? Of course the Bishops and such are going to deny and cover up... they didn't start out as Bishops, now did they? If a regular priest gets so much protection, can you imagine that the "higher-ups" would want to start changing things, hence possibly leading to their own vulnerability? The Church doesn't want people to lose faith, so try to handle things quietly - well, it's reached the point where people are being suspicious of all clergy as a result. Too bad, as there are many wonderful religious leaders out there, and many people are also losing their spiritual community as a result of all this - that is a double crime! I am not Christian, nor was it a priest who abused me. To me, it doesn't matter who or what they are - they committed outrageous, revolting, damaging crimes and should be tossed out into the public view and held accountable! The children are innocent and deserve protection. If you think it's not something you should really think about, you are naive! 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 (or more) boys will suffer sexual abuse. By a family member, friend, or close authority figure (teacher, coach, priest) - them's the facts, folks! And don't think you'll know! Don't think CAS, the law, etc will come storming in to help you and your child if you do know or suspect! Why? Because people don't want to think about it, accept, believe it, because it's horrible - it is!! Educate yourself and your children and get involved! You DO know at least 1 person who has been sexually abused as a child - guaranteed!

My appologies for not saying in our earlier post how much we admire the strength and courage of ladies like Ann and their families. They are an inspiration to us all! We know from our own experiences that to fight this kind of abuse is overwhelming for ones family and friends. We found the abuse we suffered worst than the loss of our 28 year old son. Incredible grief and pain to be hurt by people we should be able to trust. Only continued exposure of all forms of abuse in the church will lead to any accountability and action for reform.

Congratulations to |Hannah Gartner for her exposure of the abuses of Roman Catholic clergy such as "Father" Sylvestre. Her interviews exposed the centuries of abuses, the denials and cover-ups by officials of that church and others in complicity. Kelly Anne Appleton and the legions of other abuse victims of the many other abusing clergy of the Roman church[admiited during the inerviews] will never never truly heal or achieve peace until they can find Christianity again in another denomination`s church community.Surprising even shocking was her admission that she sends her own children to a school system where contact with other abusing priests was possible. These abuses will clearly never end until massive numbers of people vote with their feet and find Christianity elsewhere. People should never leave their brains outside the church door.

Thank you for a very thorough report. My sincere compliment to all the victims who had the courage to come forward despite decades of suffering.

It would be interesting to itemize the number of Catholic Bishops who have now retired in the Diocese of London who once served in a Diocese with high incidents of abuse. Over time - past, current , and future it would be also interesting to itemize the high number of cases of abuse in the Diocese of London. While Father Sylvestre's case may be the most notorious example , I would venture to think that the total picture would be shocking.

Thank you again.

Absolutely one of the most disturbing documentaries I've seen. I was filled with complete revulsion. It's amazing that this man's (monster, more like it) trail of abuse and destruction was covered up for so long and yet, why do I get the feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Catholic Church is conflicted. It obviously gives people a huge amount and yet it has literally destroyed people. It's 2007 and its time the Church get their house in order. I feel dreadful for the many victims of this truly disturbed priest. May he rot in hell!

We thought the program was excellent. Sensitively reported. Sadly we saw no real sign of genuine remorse or accountability by the Catholic church. But why should we be surprised? We are reminded of sayings by two famous people:

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it” - Martin Luther King

"The world is a dangerous place to live in not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who sit and it let it happen" - Albert Einstein

For every abuser there are many hundreds, maybe thousands who deliberately ignore the abuse happening infront of their eyes. They become very confused by the whole process of forgiveness to the point they let abusers continue their sick acts...they become accomplices,

We ourselves are part of a worldwide loosely associated group of web sites and authors on the topic of spritual and emotional abuse in the church. The reaction to numerous accounts of well documented abuse has been to excommunicate or isolate those raising these issues. The ministers and pastors who abuse are protected by the system and their denominations. Its no different than your report on the Catholic church. The harm can be as bad but there is no criminal code to protect the victims.

Please keep up the good work to bring these kinds of abusive acts into the light.

Hanna Gartner did an excellent job reporting "The Good Father" on the Fifth Estate. Hopefully this report on Father Charles Sylvestre's abuse on young girls will be seen by many viewers who will demand that the Diocese starts to make immediate changes to avoid anything like this repeating itself. This abuse is a devastating experience to these young girls and their parents.

We had three sons who attended St. Ursula School and Church at that time and many of their classmates were some of the girls that were abused. One thing I can remember is that every time Father Sylvestre was seen in the school yard he would always be holding hands with a couple of girls. Luckily we had boys.

Mr. and Mrs. VanDaele

I started crying in the first 5 mins. of this show. Thank you Hana for bringing this critical issue to the forefront. Fr. Sylvestre told us that he was initially told by his bishop to "pray more" to get better. Really, he was really being told to "prey more".
I can only imagine the validation of other victims coming forward and FINALLY being believed. I have been involved in a suit against a priest who had sexual intercourse and oral sex for yrs. with this (then) 17 yrs. old student(he was my principal). I have repeatedly been told by the diocese, school board and the Congregation of the Resurrections Order that "We deny any and all responsibilities". My biggest wish is to be believed. The head of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said to you that things have changed...."I think not!" Since 2002 I'm still being told..."we deny any and all responsibility". Sincerely, Donna Dempsey

I am one of Fr. Sylvestre's victims, one of the 47 that came forward for the criminal trial. My two siblings, my sisters, make up two more victims. Fr. Charlie hit the trifecta at our house. So I know about this story.

I appreciate that tonight's show focused on the failure of the London Diocese to protect its youngest members. Maybe because I've heard all this before, know all the details, the show wasn't as hard-hitting as I would have hoped. Where was the outrage? Where were the nauseating details? Why didn't viewers get to experience the utter shock, dismay, horror, sadness, disgust that those of us sitting in the courtroom got to experience?

My own memories of my abuse remained buried for decades. In fact, I know in my heart that there is more to remember, that more must be remembered, to go forward. But even with the wrenching experience of the criminal trial, even with the self-imposed pressures to create a case for a civil suit, I just can't bear to go deeper. I don't want to remember.I don't want to know.

I admire the victims, their families, their supporters, and members of the parishes that are channeling their own outrage by working to affect change in the Catholic Church. For those of us who had our faith ripped from us, who abandoned the church that had abandoned us, this is not possible. Many more of us are swinging fists in empty air, wanting to strike out and hurt back.

We've made great strides in our understanding of paedophilia. Now there needs to be more understanding about victimization. Dr. Peter Jaffe's groundbreaking report prepared for the Crown in this case needs to be made known to the public. People need to understand that even the "least invasive" abuse can have as devastating an effect on its victims as those who were raped. We aren't fine.

Please continue to watch us, to get our story out, to help people to understand.

I watched with interest as I am a recent (8yr) convert to the Catholic Church..it breaks my heart that these poor souls were abused by a priest...although I know he is not alone...Lambton County has had more than one...but the priest who deals with all of this hit the nail on the head...priests live in (make) their own world..what is also difficult are the priests who would never dream of such a thing...they are looked at with some suspicion as well..their vocation is not an easy one just now.I pray for solice for these women who have had so much of their life taken from them by a man who should have treated them like a kind old grandfather or beloved uncle...I will leave it to God to judge him..hopefully this will bring to an end the suffering of any more children!!!