'It should be exposed': Survivor calls on church to release treatment records of abusive priests

John Doe was abused by Father George Ansell Smith for more than three years, starting when he was just six. He's been locked in a lawsuit with the church for nearly 13 years. (Ted Dillon/CBC)Social SharingA man who was abused by a notorious Catholic priest in Newfoundland is joining other voices calling on the church to release its records on abusive priests sent away for treatment.

The man can only be identified as John Doe. He was abused by Father George Ansel Smith as a young boy on the west coast of Newfoundland in the 1970s.

Court records show Smith was sent to the Southdown Institute — an Ontario therapy centre offering a range of services for priests dealing with issues ranging from depression and alcoholism to pedophilia — in 1992.

He returned to the priesthood for nearly 20 years, until John Doe and a dozen other men came forward with allegations starting in 2011.

"I think it should be exposed for everybody to see the truth,” John Doe told CBC News. “There are file cabinets and rooms full of this stuff in every parish and every diocese. It needs to just be exposed for what it is, and let people start living their lives and move on."

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John Doe spoke to CBC News following an article published last month, which detailed letters uncovered in a new court filing in Grand Falls-Windsor. The letters show the former bishop of Grand Falls exchanging letters with the executive director of Southdown in 1970, speaking about a priest who was removed from a rural parish over concerns about his "relationships" with boys.

The letters were not unearthed during the Winter Commission in 1990, which examined a surge of clergy abuse cases. They were not part of the priest's criminal trial, either.

In the wake of the story, prominent clergy abuse advocate and survivor Gemma Hickey called on the church to turn over its records for independent examination, so the public could know once and for all which priests were sent away for treatment, what Southdown recommended, and whether or not the church adhered to those recommendations.

“I’m not surprised," he said. "I mean there’s probably more of this stuff kicking around. How many people’s lives have to be ruined before somebody says we were wrong and we’re going to atone for that now?”

Smith was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2013. He served a fraction of that time before being released on parole.

John Doe sued the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador (formerly known as the Diocese of St. George's) nearly 13 years ago, alleging it knew or ought to have known that Smith was a risk to children and its negligence resulted in him being abused.

He watched with mixed feelings as the Archdiocese of St. John's was forced to sell off properties to settle abuse cases on the east coast, while the church continued fighting him on the other side of the island.

George Ansel Smith was a priest on Newfoundland's west coast who abused at least 13 boys in the 1970s and '80s. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2013. (CBC)John Doe said he called the bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador two years ago, and urged him to sit down with their lawyers to find a resolution. He said the bishop believed the case had already been settled, but was confusing Smith with another abusive priest whose case forced the diocese to file for bankruptcy protection in 2005.

"I said, well, I think that you need to sit down with the lawyers and really have a good conversation with them and, you know, expose it for what it is," John Doe said. "And if you have any decency at all, that's what you'll do. No such luck."

CBC News has requested comment from the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador. No response has been received as of publishing time.

John Doe said he won't be able to really begin healing until the case is settled. Small parts of daily life — like seeing children playing — can still pull him back into the past. He still wakes up screaming and fighting in the middle of the night, dreaming of the abuse he endured as a child.

If the church wants to make amends, John Doe said turning over the files on Smith and other abusive priests would be a good place to start.

"At some point, please, please, just let us have some peace. I just want a conclusion. How long does it have to go on? How long do I have to be tortured?”

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Ryan Cooke is a justice affairs reporter based in St. John's. He can be reached at ryan.cooke@cbc.ca.