Victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy and their advocates say the trial of a Canadian Roman Catholic bishop who faces child pornography charges is a step in the right direction.
Bishop Raymond Lahey's trial is scheduled to begin Wednesday in an Ottawa court - a rare case of high ranking Canadian Church official facing charges over sexual misconduct.
Lahey, who was charged in 2009 with possessing and importing child pornography after border agents examined his laptop at an Ontario airport, resigned as head of the Catholic diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia just before the charges became public and has been living in a residence for retired priests since his October 2009 arrest.
The case was especially shocking to Canadians because Lahey had overseen a multimillion dollar settlement for clerical sexual abuse victims in his diocese only a month earlier.
Victims advocates say the case is significant because law enforcement agencies have long looked the other way in prosecuting sex-related offenses where high-ranking church officials were concerned.
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