Breach of Faith, Breach of Trust
The Story of Lou Ann Soontiens, Father Charles Sylvestre, and Sexual Abuse within the Catholic Church
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Father Sylvestre, I thought, was my friend. He always made a point of telling me that I was special. That was important to me, as I entered grade five, for I had not felt that I was very special, at all, for most of my life. He seemed to sense my needs and always seemed to know what to say to cheer me up and give me confidence. A confidence that had, for much of my life, sadly eluded me. I had been abandoned by my mother when I was only six weeks old and I never knew my father. In fact, I was not entirely sure if my mother knew who my father was. If she did, she never shared that information with me. I was, as a consequence, raised by my maternal grandmother and step grandfather. School was an escape for me and I looked forward to going there each day. I felt wanted and I almost felt that I was respected there. I felt that people there actually cared for me as a person. I especially felt that Father Sylvestre was making an attempt to listen to me and as result, I confided in him about almost everything. When I was in grade five, Father Sylvestyre would regularly request that I come to the church and help him with a number of small tasks. I felt, at first, honoured. I was sure that Father saw me as someone who was special and someone who was neither stupid nor worthless. I was sure that he could look into my soul and see who I really was and that he could see a bright light shining there that would someday reveal itself to the rest of the world. When I was around him, I felt that my future was full of hope, full of promise and that I had potential. And then...everything changed.
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About the Book
As a young child of twelve, Lou Ann Soontiens saw school as a place of refuge. When the school’s resident priest, Father Charles Sylvestre, took an interest in her, she felt honoured and privileged. She put her complete faith and trust in this charismatic man of God and it resulted in years of sexual abuse, humiliation, and an unwanted pregnancy.
This misplaced devotion would lead her to forty years of confusion, guilt, and pain and, ultimately, to her being awarded, by the Diocese of London, Ontario, the largest settlement ( 1.75 million Canadian dollars) ever given to an individual by the Catholic Church in Canadian history.
It was not until Lou Ann reached middle-age that she found out that she was not alone in her pain and guilt; at least forty-six other women had experienced the same degradation at the hands of Father Charles Sylvestre. Much to her shock, she discovered that the Catholic Church had known about Father Sylvestre’s abusive nature, and, as with hundreds of other priests with the same problem, chose to ignore the dangerous situation and quietly move the offending priest to a new parish where the abuse of young children would once again commence.
About the Author
Jim Gilbert is a local, national, and international award-winning teacher, historian, and writer. He is the author of three books on Canadian history and has published many newspaper articles on historical and social issues. Retired from teaching, he resides with his wife, Lisa, near Chatham, Ontario, Canada.