SYDNEY —The lawyer who filed a class action lawsuit against the Diocese of Antigonish says he’s been contacted by a number of people saying they’re survivors of sexual abuse by priests and he knows there are others out there.
John McKiggan filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Ronald Martin, a native of New Waterford. Martin’s brother, David, killed himself in 2002, leaving behind a suicide note which led to charges of sex crimes against former priest Hugh Vincent MacDonald. Ronald Martin says he also endured abuse from MacDonald.
The former priest was facing 27 charges when he died in 2004.
The class action claims the diocese failed to protect the children in its care when it became aware of the abuse, and also names the Roman Catholic Church and a church official. The suit, which contains allegations not yet proven in court and was filed under Nova Scotia’s new Class Proceedings Act, involves claims that MacDonald and several other priests sexually abused children in their care between 1962 and 2008.
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