Letter: Canadian church officials knew of abuse before priest was promoted to Vatican

Letter: Canadian church knew of abuse allegation

TORONTO — A letter written by a late Catholic bishop shows church officials in Canada knew of sexual abuse allegations against a priest who later became a top Vatican official.

Bishop Joseph Windle of Pembroke, Ontario, sent the letter to the pope’s envoy to Canada in 1993.

The letter is about Monsignor Bernard Prince, a friend of the late Pope John Paul II who served as the secretary general for the Vatican’s Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1991 until his 2004 retirement.

Windle writes that he discussed the allegations with his archbishop before Prince’s Vatican promotion. The letter discusses the importance of keeping the matter secret.

Prince was convicted in 2008 of molesting 13 boys in Canada between 1964 and 1984. He was defrocked and is in jail.