'To avoid scandal': Unearthed letters show how N.L. bishop handled allegations in Baie Verte
Insurance company believes therapy records can show who knew what, and when
The first letter is dated March 31, 1970.
asserted
letter → avoid → what
Father Leonard Joseph Kelly was told to leave his parish in a hurry.
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Kelly → tell → hurry
The bishop could see no other option.
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bishop → see → option
“It seems that you have been committing these acts over a long period,” reads the letter from John Michael O’Neill, then the bishop of Grand Falls.
asserted
letter → seem → Falls
“You should make immediate preparations to leave Baie Verte permanently.
asserted
You → make → Verte
To avoid scandal, you can say that you have not been feeling well and need medical care.”
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you → avoid → care
The bishop never spells out exactly what the priest has done.
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priest → spell → what
He refers to it only as a “problem” far more “deep-seated” than was previously known.
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He → refer → problem
O’Neill asks Kelly for frankness and honesty — and underscores his desire for secrecy.
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O’Neill → ask → secrecy
“I thought of calling a meeting of the consultors but decided against it for fear that something might [get] out,” O’Neill wrote.
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O’Neill → think → fear
Rather than alert authorities, newly unearthed letters show the bishop referred the priest to the Southdown Institute — a controversial therapy centre near Toronto, where priests have been treated for a range of issues from alcoholism and depression to pedophilia for decades.
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priests → unearth → decades
These letters, discovered in Kelly’s personnel file at the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Grand Falls, are now at the centre of an uncommon legal action in central Newfoundland.
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letters → discover → Newfoundland
The church's own insurance provider is seeking a Norwich order — an exceptional move compelling a third party to hand over vital documents that could lead to a lawsuit against another entity.
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that → seek → entity
In this case, Guardian Insurance is asking a judge to compel the Southdown Institute to turn over its files on Kelly to find out exactly why he was admitted there in 1970.
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he → ask → 1970
Guardian believes the records could show the church knew Kelly was a risk to children before entering into an insurance policy in the 1980s.
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Kelly → believe → 1980s
Those records could lead to another court action, in which Guardian would seek to avoid covering the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Grand Falls for Kelly’s abuses during its policy period due to material non-disclosure or misrepresentation.
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Guardian → lead → disclosure
I cannot be expected to condone the seriousness of his betrayal of confidence and the terrible scandal which, but for the discretion of the family involved, could have blighted the whole life of the church in this small province.- Bishop John Michael O'Neill
The church is currently facing a lawsuit, filed in 2022, accusing Kelly of sexual abuse in Gander.
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church → expect → Gander
The plaintiff alleged he was “subjected to regular and frequent forced oral sex and occasionally other invasive sexual touching by Kelly” between 1977 and 1983, when he was between the ages of six and 12.
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he → allege → six
Kelly was also convicted of sexually assaulting a pair of 12-year-old boys in the mid-1980s.
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Kelly → convict → mid-1980s
A provincial court judge sentenced him to two years of probation, contingent on him returning to the Southdown Institute for treatment.
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him → sentence → treatment
The province’s court of appeal found that to be inappropriate, and instead sent Kelly to jail on a four-month sentence in 1988.
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that → find → 1988
Bishop credited family’s ‘discretion’ in avoiding scandal
The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Grand Falls is the church’s corporate body overseeing larger centres such as Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander, while also serving dozens of smaller churches dotting rural outports throughout the island.
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Corporation → credit → island
Father Kelly — who hailed from Windsor — was ordained in 1955.
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who → hail → 1955
He was welcomed to the priesthood by Bishop O’Neill at a ceremony in his hometown in front of 500 people “eager to honour the young cleric,” according to an article published by the Advertiser on June 9, 1955.
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He → welcome → June
It’s not clear when he moved to Baie Verte.
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he → ’ → Verte
Three months after being told to leave the parish, Bishop O’Neill began exchanging letters with the Southdown Institute about Kelly’s progress.
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O’Neill → tell → progress
The first letter quotes from a psychiatric evaluation conducted after his admission, referring to his actions as “rather pathetic homosexual adventures” fuelled by alcoholism.
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letter → quote → alcoholism
“I do not feel the sexual episodes will cause any future difficulties if this priest is successful in his attempt to separate himself from alcohol,” it reads.
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it → feel → alcohol
The person evaluating Kelly recommended he return to the priesthood in the Diocese of Grand Falls.
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he → evaluate → Falls
“It is felt that when returned to the ministry, Father Kelly should not be removed from the diocese since sexual problems play only a small role in his total inability to adjust.
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problems → feel → inability
Rather than being removed from the home diocese, he should be given considerable support in his attempt to attack his central alcoholic difficulties.”
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he → remove → difficulties
Bishop O’Neill responded two weeks later, pushing back on the idea.
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O’Neill → respond → idea
“It must be obvious to him, as it is to me, that he was lucky to get out of Baie Verte with his name unsullied,” O’Neill wrote.
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O’Neill → get → Verte
Even he should realize that it is not merely a case of taking up where he left off.”
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he → realize → ?
Father Kelly letters (PDF KB)
Father Kelly letters (Text KB)CBC is not responsible for 3rd party content
The bishop suggested Kelly should be moved to Halifax on a temporary basis.
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Kelly → suggest → basis
“While my sympathy goes out to Father Kelly, as it would to any poor priest in trouble, I cannot be expected to condone the seriousness of his betrayal of confidence and the terrible scandal which, but for the discretion of the family involved, could have blighted the whole life of the church in this small province.”
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which → go → province
The response — authored by Southdown’s executive director, John Kelly — came close to spelling out the nature of the complaint against the priest, without explicitly stating it.
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response → author → it
“I am keenly aware that his conduct could have created wide-spread scandal and I am grateful that this was avoided,” the director wrote.
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director → create → scandal
“The more we see of Father Kelly, the more we become convinced that he can make a good recovery.
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he → see → recovery
His motivation is good and it becomes increasingly apparent that prolonged drinking had removed, as it frequently does, the restraints which normally he would have exercised in his relationships with the boys in question.”
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he → become → question
…and 22 more, not listed.
