cryptogon.com

The Roman Catholic cleric, who resigned his post in Nova Scotia on the weekend before news of the charges broke, has been ordered to stay away from parks and from children. He is not allowed to use the internet, and while he is free he is to stay in Rogersville, N.B. The town is the site of a Trappist monastery.

His next court date is Nov. 4 in Ottawa.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant had been issued for Lahey, 69, who brokered a $15-million settlement for victims of sexual abuse by priests of the diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia.

Lahey was returning to Canada on Sept. 15 when he was detained at Ottawa International Airport. Canada Border Services agents checked his laptop and found images “of concern,” Ottawa police said in a release.

Lahey was allowed to leave, but his computer and other media devices were seized. Police alleged a forensic examination ultimately found child pornography.

On Friday, Ottawa police charged Lahey with possession of child pornography and importation of child pornography.

The next day, he resigned as bishop of the diocese of Antigonish, citing the need for “personal renewal.”

‘Ultimate revictimization’

Anthony Mancini, the archbishop of Halifax who is overseeing the Antigonish diocese, went to Sydney on Thursday to speak with Lahey’s former parishioners and hold a news conference.

“I am well aware that everyone is in shock,” said Mancini.

“I am concerned with all who are trying to find any meaning in this devastation. I do not have the solution to this problem or the capacity to take away the pain or the means to erase this tragedy.”

Mancini has said he wasn’t aware of the charges against Lahey until Wednesday.

In a letter to parishioners in Newfoundland — Lahey’s native province, where he was also a bishop — the Archbishop of St. John’s, Martin Currie, wrote that child pornography is equivalent to child abuse and exploitation.