WAKE UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING??? !!!! ????

Rev. Raymond Lahey, 69, the former archbishop of the diocese of Antigonish, has been charged with possessing and importing child pornography.

My article on COSA and the changes of support for COSA made by our Government has been immediately followed by this report. How timely. But how unfortunate.

First – I want to say that the charge is the first nightmare for Raymond. Guilty or not he has now been entered into a suspicion that will never leave him.

Second – he will be stalked by the rest of society for the rest of his life. There is little hope for him from now on.

Now added to that is the fact that he is a Priest, and an important one that has already done many things for others will add to his shame. At this moment there is a warrant out for him. He has disappeared. The likelihood that he could take his own life knowing what the treatment of “his kind is” – is real. That was my first thought when I heard the reports yesterday. He is dead now!

Now leaving Mr. Lahey aside for a bit – I am asking you to consider others that have been caught, charged, convicted, sentenced, served time and then are released. That is the complete order that they all have to face. The entire time on this could take up from two to ten years or so from what I have witnessed. At the final date it should be over – but it will not be!

When the man comes out of prison(and he will) he will have to set up his life to keep on going. Where will he get the money to live? How will he buy food? Where will he live? How will he get a doctor if he is in a new community? In Ontario he will be eligible for something that is called “Ontario Works” – which means that when you don’t or can’t work the Government supports you. (In other places it is called “social welfare” – for our province that is too negative….)

Now in the case of some one that has completed his time in prison for a child pornography charges and related convictions – he will not easily find a job. If he tries to check the job banks – he will not be allowed to use computers – because that comes with his conditions. If he tries to go back to school he will need to use a computer – but he will not be allowed to do so.

If he applies for a job of almost any kind he will need a police check done… and you guessed it… the conviction will be reported.

The whole story will never be told by the police check – but just enough that he will never get the job.

Now if he does find a place to live it will have to be one that allows him to live out his conditions placed on him by the courts.

Now add some more things to this long and growing list of impossible living – no one will want to talk to him, live near him, allow him to come over, or even be in the same room with him. EVERYONE HATES HIS GUTS – FOREVER!

In Canada we consider our society to be humanitarian in their approach to everyone. Everyone has human rights. And with the justice we provide we have taken a strong stance on capital punishment and banned the death penalty – altogether.

Yet we as a society continue to have very strong feelings and attitudes to kill many people – destroy everything about them – if we deem it appropriate – and we think that it should happen. A Pedophile is not allowed the same privileges that others are – because society states it is the one last crime that can never be forgiven. And society will do everything it can to eliminate this kind of evil!

We can make heroes of murderers and bank robbers… yet we will punish the ones that we deem worse!

I can see why a Bishop would potentially go out into the bush and end it all. I understand.

There is an answer…
Fifteen years ago with a couple of high risk, bad men that had molested children were coming from prison. There was a risk for them to commit the crimes again. They knew it and others knew it too.

A group of concerned individuals reasoned that if these men were shunned and isolated in the community they would be more likely to commit their hidden crimes again. So often the men that have done these things have committed the secret sin – without others knowing. In fact my guess is that this has heightened “their pleasure”.

From the discussion group it was reasoned that if you provided a community person that understood the individual ex-offender and then took time to get to know him – even offering him friendship – the ex-offender would be open to his new friend. Further to this a list of things that the ex-offender and volunteer friend would do – was always in front of them. The courts established strict rules for the offender – and the volunteer understanding these would also help the ex-offender abide by them.

Should there be a failure to abide by the rules there is a word that describes what happens – that word is BREACH of Conditions. The moment that it happened the volunteer calls the police and the ex-offender is picked up and taken to jail again… further charges can be paid and incarceration for longer periods of time could be imposed.

This first meeting was the forming of the COSA – the Circle of Support and Accountability. Each pedophile was/is surrounded by a Circle of Volunteers that have been trained to understand the conditions. Some of the details of what the ex-offender may be shared – but details of the past are not as important as the conditions of the present.

In the COSA there is a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday person. One person for each day ideally. On their given day the volunteer calls, connects, goes out for coffee – or may have the Core Member over to their home if that is appropriate.

Then each week, beginning the week that the core member comes into the community, the COSA has a meeting with him. This continues for weeks on end until the initial period of settling in takes place. Then it may go to once and month after that.

Each COSA Team member relates in their own way to the Core Member. Each may hear a different story – or account of how the day has gone. In the weekly or monthly meeting the verbal notes are compared with the Core Member present. If it has been a great month with good things and feelings being present – a celebration can take place. If it has been not so good – encouragement is also given from the Team. If there are problems and conditions that have been breached – a call is immediately placed with the police and the group loses its Core Member.

I have witnessed this all take place…. Celebration… encouragement… and the good bye Core Member… BUT ONE THING TO NOTE – in my 10 years of being apart of this there has been NO MORE VICTIMS. Not one child has been harmed – ever.

Oh yes there has been new men like Rev. Raymond Lahey caught with images on his computer… possibly a sex offender… not quite a pedophile who has molested children directly… but the other kind.

There will always be more Laheys – they are the men and even women that have fallen into the trap. They are the ones that we need to worry about – BIG TIME… they are our fathers, brothers, uncles and grandfathers… that are great guys… and only one little person knows how bad they are.

The ones that are caught, charged, convicted, sentenced, served time and then released are not the problem… if they have a COSA.

So why get all steamed up about this?

Well when it is announced that out Minister Peter Van Loan’s office has come to a decision to not fund the COSA portion of corrections any longer – I am concerned! The Government then becomes party to a potential re-offence by the Pedophile… and THEY should be sued!

I know that not a lot of Canadians will ever hear about murraylincoln.blogspot.com – but maybe just one person will hear and then act… and who knows maybe even a politician or two will care enough to WAKE UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING??? !!!! ????

Who knows…?

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

PLEASE NOTE:
October 2/2009 - Update Bishop Rev. Raymond Lahey turned himself into the Ottawa Police on October 1. He has not caused himself harm.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/704238

Source:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/01/ns-lahey-charged-sydney.html
http://thechronicleherald.ca/News/1145349.html