HALIFAX — A man has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth for alleged sexual abuse by priests dating back decades.
The proposed suit was filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Thursday, but has not yet been certified.
Halifax lawyer John McKiggan said lead plaintiff Douglas Champagne has alleged he was sexually abused by priest George Epoch of the Canadian Martyrs parish in the 1960s.
"He alleges that other priests who lived in the residence where the assaults took place were aware of what was going on," said McKiggan.
"We allege that the assaults were well-known and that they are simply part of a larger systemic pattern of the Catholic Church world-wide having a policy of covering up and keeping quiet any allegation of sexual abuse against a priest."
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth declined an interview request Friday.
But in a statement, the archdiocese said it was reviewing the statement of claim and that it has "an established process in place to address claims brought for any historic sexual abuse."
"Because legal action is now underway, it would be inappropriate to speak about specific aspects of the claim," the statement said.
"We nevertheless remain committed to being respectful of the dignity of the claimants and doing the right thing for victims of sexual abuse who wish to have claims addressed by the archdiocese."
McKiggan said the next step is to apply to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to certify the class-action lawsuit.
