Valley Catholics air views on priest Parishioners meet diocesan official

FRENCHVILLE – Parishioners from three St. John Valley Roman Catholic churches got the opportunity over the weekend to express their feelings about the fact their pastor had abused a teen-ager more than 20 years ago.

Monsignor Marc Caron, co-chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, attended Masses on Saturday and Sunday at St. Joseph Parish in Sinclair, St. Agatha Parish and St. Luce Parish in Frenchville, where the Rev. Michael Doucette is pastor.

“They have expressed the widest range of emotions,” Caron said during a telephone interview on Sunday about the comments he heard from the parishioners. “They expressed sorrow, sadness, strain, anger, frustration and forgiveness, and a wide range of positions.

“Given the time that has elapsed, they’ve been able to understand the seriousness of the issue and the complexity of the issue,” he added.

Caron also met for two hours Sunday afternoon in executive session with members of the parish council for the three churches.

“We provided him with our recommendation based on all the information we’ve received from parishioners,” said Kevin Lavoie, acting president of the council, adding that he wasn’t at liberty to go into specifics of the meeting. “We also provided him with our own views as parishioners.”

Caron’s visit is the latest part of a scenario that has unfolded since the diocese disclosed on Feb. 10 that Doucette and the Rev. John Audibert, pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madawaska, sexually abused two teen-age boys more that 20 years ago.

Last weekend, members of the parish council for the churches in Sinclair, St. Agatha and Frenchville heard from David Gagnon, 37, of Ottawa, Ontario, about his abuse from Doucette when Doucette was assistant pastor at St. Andre’s Parish in Biddeford 22 years ago.

That information also was relayed to Caron during his meeting with the parish council on Sunday, Lavoie said.

The incident involving Audibert took place in 1976 while he was at Holy Cross Church in Lewiston.

Representatives of the diocese met last month with the parish council from Madawaska.

The purpose of Caron’s visit over the weekend was to gauge the feelings of parishioners at Doucette’s churches.

“Is it feasible for parish life to continue the way it is?” Caron asked Sunday. “The bishop would never impose a priest with that past upon an unwilling parish.”

Last week, the diocese reported that two more people had come forward with allegations that they had been sexually abused as teen-agers more than 30 years ago by Roman Catholic priests in Maine.

The church did not identify the priests, who are no longer active, or the parishes in which the alleged abuse took place.

That information has been forwarded to Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, who will review it and decide whether criminal action is warranted or can be taken.

Bishop Joseph Gerry has declined to name inactive, retired or deceased priests accused of sexual misconduct, but has sent those files to Anderson.

Prior to 1993, the diocese turned over abuse cases only if the victims approved. A law passed in 1997 requires the church to report all allegations of abuse to authorities, regardless of the victims’ wishes.

“What we are trying to do is be clear in disclosing that, of the priests we have serving in the diocese, there are two who have admitted to past acts of sexual misconduct with minors,” said Caron. “That effort at disclosure was an attempt to establish confidence of Catholics in their parish priests, a confidence that really has been shaken since the revelations from Boston.”

The names of the Maine priests were released after the Boston archdiocese released the names of priests in Massachusetts who reportedly had abused minors for decades.

Caron said on Sunday that the issues now before the Roman Catholic Church in Maine and the St. John Valley parishioners goes to the core of church values.

“One is the unequivocal, unconditional condemnation of any kind of misconduct [with] a minor and that the church can never be seen as condoning that or tolerating it,” Caron said. “On the other hand, they also see that the church’s message is based on forgiveness and that some people are capable of changing their lives and beginning new lives.

“How those two get resolved in this situation is not clear yet,” he said.

Caron said that in addition to the disclosure, Gerry felt it was necessary for diocesan officials to hear firsthand from parishioners before making any decision.

“That is part of the goal of my visit here,” explained Caron. “Can their life continue now knowing what they do about their pastor?”

Information obtained by Caron, and from the earlier meetings with the parish council in Madawaska, will be presented to Gerry, who is expected to make a decision regarding the status of the two priests perhaps within the week.

The Associated Press contributed to this story