Top Canadian Catholic armed forces chaplain charged with homosexual assault
February 17, 2010
Msgr. Roger Bazin, the leading Canadian Catholic armed forces chaplain until his retirement in 1995, has been charged with one count of buggery, one count of indecent assault on a male, and one count of gross indecency in a 1972 incident. Military police investigated the incident after the alleged victim came forward last year.
Msgr. Bazin was a captain when the alleged incident occurred and later rose to the rank of brigadier general.
“He was a very, very nice man. Very congenial, gracious. Lots of sensitivity to people as a chaplain general. Very positive, so this really comes as a shock to us,” said Bishop Donald Thériault of the Military Ordinariate of Canada.
“The only thing I can say is I’m certainly going to defend myself,” said Msgr. Bazin, now 72, from his Manitoba hometown, where he lives with his sister. “I need prayers and I’m going to give it good fight.”
“All of my life was helping people,” he added. “I can see that it’s all going to come to a screeching end because of those allegations.”
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Further information:
- Retired Chaplain General Charged for Incidents in 1972 (CFNIS)
- Sex charges laid against top Forces Chaplain (Toronto Star)
- Military chaplain accused of sex assault (CNews)
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