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The Pope & the pervert BY DAN WALSH FORMER ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP RAYMOND LAHEY’S KIDDIE PORN GUILTY PLEA CAME JUST THREE DAYS AFTER THE BEATIFICATION OF KAROL JOZEF WOJTYLA, THE POPE WHO KEPT HIS EYES AVERTED AS THE CHURCH’S WORST SEX ABUSE SCANDALS WERE EXPOSED. And while Pope Benedict was only too happy to fast-track the sainthood of his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the Vatican is taking its sweet old time announcing the punishment of Lahey, whose Canada Customs-seized laptop contained 588 child porn photos, 33 sex videos, and numerous explicit stories involving the Raymond Lahey degradation of children. According to the May 6 Irish Times (published in Dublin, where rampant Catholic priest sex abuse went unchecked for decades), the Vatican said in a statement on Lahey: “Although the civil process has run its course, the Holy See will continue to follow the canonical procedures in effect for such cases which will result in the imposition of the appropriate disciplinary or penal measures.” Hardly a fire and brimstone condemnation, is it? When Lahey was first arrested, an RCMP officer in the Child Exploitation Unit in Halifax told me: “Anyone who views child porn is considered a pedophile.” (Frank 570). Research, he told me, has shown that 85 per cent of people who view, make, or trade in child pornography have either in the past sexually abused a child, or is at a very high risk to abuse a child. As the Irish Times put it: “The Holy See’s continued handling of the Lahey case seems certain to present a revealing litmus test of the church’s willingness (or not) to pursue not only abuser priests but also abuser bishops.” Personally, I know many Catholics in Antigonish are glad to see Lahey rot in hell, I mean, his cell. dan@atlanticfrank.ca Churchy swap-eroo BY DAN WALSH IT APPEARS ANGLICAN BISHOP SUE MOXLEY’S PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED, AND A BUYER HAS BEEN FOUND FOR ST. MATTHIAS CHURCH. I’m hearing the historic prayer barn on Chebucto and Windsor, a victim of Bishop Sue’s corporate agenda of forced mergers (Frank 596), will soon be home to St. Antonios Antiochian Orothodox Church, the predominantly Lebanese congregation next to the former Olympic Gardens community centre, which St. Antonios purchased over a decade ago. St. Matthias worhsippers are expected to make the pilgrimmage to St. Phillips later in May, and I’m told St. Antonios will oc- 14 FRANK MAGAZINE MAY 24, 2011 The tiny old St. Antonios Church. cupy the vacated church starting in June. While I haven’t heard a sale price, the property owned by the St. Matthais congregation since 1914 is assessed at over $1.5 million. dan@atlanticfrank.ca Silent Sunday at St. Pat’s BY DAN WALSH ON MAY 22, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE GREAT WAR, NO SUNDAY MASS WILL BE CEL- EBRATED AT ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH ON BRUNWSICK STREET. Every Sunday, no matter rain or shine; even in the Halifax Explosion aftermath; throughout the Dirty Thirties; the Second World War; V-E Day; the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis; Pierre Trudeau’s arrogance; stagflation; disco; Reganomics; Thatcherism; glasnost; the Vagina Monologues every V-Day; as sure as our Earth moves around the sun, every Sunday a Roman Catholic priest is on hand at St. Pat’s to perform mass for the faithful. This tradition, I am sad to report, is over on May 22, 2011. What horrible catastrophe caused the St. Pat’s congregation to temporarily bolt its prayer barn doors? Bubonic plague? Incessant gun violence? A 24-hour Pam Anderson marathon on Spike? I ask you, what calamity could possibly derail nearly a century of Sunday services? Well friends, a most apocalyptic horror has descended upon the noble and longsuffering parishioners of St. Patrick’s: joggers. Once a year, the adherents to this bizarre cult gather en masse in Halifax to disrupt the very fabric of our society. Thousands storm the streets, with all the fervour of a pagan ritual, to revel in their obnoxious celebration known as the Bluenose Marathon. There are so many grunting, panting, sweaty-faced runners, it becomes nearly impossible to cross the road without being kicked in the shin-splints by someone’s latest pair of New Balances. Just imagine, the poor old church ladies in their Sunday best, having to struggle against a swarm of Nike sweatpants to reach their discreetly parked cars. Oh, the humanity! And imagine, inside the quiet church, trying to raise one’s voice in praise of the Lord, while outside runners groan, curse and collapse from pulled hamstrings, hip stress, and patellofemoral syndrome. No doubt about it, the Bluenose Marathon is a modern-day scourge and pestilence that requires the patience of Job to endure. St. Patrick’s regular weekend mass will occur instead on Saturday, May 21 at 4 p.m. Amen. dan@atlanticfrank.ca
Lonely at Rowan BY DAN WALSH ONLY THREE EMPLOYEES NOW TOIL IN THE DESERTED ROWAN HQ IN BURNSIDE, INCLUDING 13-YEAR COMPANY MAN ROBERT RITTER, WHO IS SUING HIS ABSENTEE EMPLOYER FOR WRONGFUL DISMISSAL. After three decades as a lynchpin in Nova Scotia’s offshore industry, Rowan pulled up stakes and put its HQ on the market. Sutton Group’s Joe Chisholm is selling the property at a bargain $1,499,000, which presumably includes the immobile Rowan logo that is embedded in a large rock out front, which now resembles a fossil more than a symbol of permanence. As reported elsewhere, the $83,000-per planner Robert launched a Supreme Court suit against Rowan, which gave him just over eight months notice, and keeps him on the payroll until before Halloween 2011. SHIPPING NEWS BY DAN WALSH AN EXPANSION AT ONE OF THE WORLD’S BUSIEST SEAPORTS SHOULD DRIVE A STAKE INTO THE HEART OF HALIFAX PORT AUTHORITY QUEEN KAREN OLDFIELD’S FAR EAST AMBITIONS. The Port of Los Angeles is spending $10 billion over the next decade to accommodate even more of the lucrative Asia trade into the U.S. Midwest. Strategically, L.A. is perfectly situated to receive goods from the Asian market bound for Chicago; under Karen’s watch, Halifax has chased this trade for nearly a decade without results (Frank 606). One look at a map tells you why: major West Coast ports like L.A. are about 5,000 nautical miles closer to regional powerhouses like Shanghai than Halifax is, via the Suez. Local industry vets have long argued that the $270,000-per Karen has neglected the traditional North Atlantic market, one of the few markets where Halifax terminals — which operate at about half-capacity — can compete, to chase unicorns in China, India and Vietnam. I have no doubt Karen and her well-compensated board of directors have captured many lovely snapshots during their frequent Asian jaunts, so I can not, in good conscience, declare the HPA missions a total failure. Simply put, wee little Halifax can not compete with the big boys like L.A. — which has invested over $50 million in cleaner air initiatives and other green technologies — even if Halifax had geographical and economic advantages, which clearly it does not. Don’t even get me started on the nonexistent ports at Sydney and Melford, both of which are fantasy projects that require tens Court papers, penned by Stewmac’s Grant Machum, suggest that Rowan pays its departing workers one month per year of service, meaning Robert believes he is eligible for nearly five months more wages, or in the neighbourhood of an extra $34,000. We connoisseurs of leisure probably can’t appreciate Robert’s frustrations when he claims he there is “nothing for him to do,” and he is unable to get “information regarding his work duties” from Rowan. Dude, it’s called the internet! Surf Rowan’s lonely HQ in Burnside. away! Thousands of Nova Scotians would kill for your workplace problems! One source tells me that Rowan’s “family atmosphere” of years past has changed: even before the global drilling behemoth left town, its Burnside employees were aware of a new cut-throat corporate agenda, where the bottom line is king and employee loyalty is thrown out the window. Rowan has filed no defence, and Robert’s claims are not proven in court. dan@atlanticfrank.ca of millions in railway upgrades. Then again, if hell freezes over and either Sydney or Melford do come onstream, at least Halifax will have a competitive advantage over someone. The Port Of Los Angeles has allocated $222 million (only slightly more than what Cher annually spends to maintain her perfect face), for a major dredging job to deepen its access channel to 53-feet. Compare this figure — and the Port of Miami’s $150 million plan to dredge its harbour to 50 feet (Frank 609, 610) — with Sydney’s proposed $38 million dredging of its 8.5-kilometre channel to 55 feet. Again I repeat: the numbers touted by the Sydney Port Corporation, and the federal and provincial governments, are wildly unrealistic. Expect to see the Halifax shipping community descend in droves on the Ashburn Golf Course on May 24, for a final send-off to outgoing Halterm skipper Doug Rose. No doubt Doug’s employer MacQuarrie will arrange for a 21gun salute as he hands the captain’s wheel over to Aussie Ashley Dinning (Frank 604, 609). Slowly, quietly, you can see evidence Halterm is getting ready for the arrival of its two new Post-Panamax cranes. Among the visible improvements is the widening of the trucker’s access road into the container terminal. I understand Marginal Road will cut off near Dover Mills, and Halterm will expand northward, where CN has removed some rail. This re-configuration yields a whole new block of land to marshall truckers, who have forever complained about delays getting into and out of the terminal. dan@atlanticfrank.ca MAY 24, 2011 FRANK MAGAZINE 15
Page 1 and 2: Convicted molester moves to Bedford
Page 3 and 4: Letters Just testing... Dear Frank:
Page 5 and 6: BY ANDREW DOUGLAS WITH ALL DUE RESP
Page 7 and 8: BY NEAL OZANO GERALD KEDDY’S CONS
Page 9 and 10: ELECTION 2011 Is Karlheinz here yet
Page 11 and 12: Has anybody else had enough of LeRo
Page 13: The case of the Crown and the court
Page 17 and 18: One hopes former Chief Justice Lorn
Page 19 and 20: Jumpin’ Judy Hare makes more than
Page 21 and 22: Jim Smith’s budget siesta BY DAN
Page 23 and 24: Mental Health Court news BY JACOB B
Page 25 and 26: COAST KISSES KUTCHER’S ARSE BY NE
Page 27 and 28: By now I hope you’ve had the plea
Page 29 and 30: RALSTON, FROM PAGE 18 courses. Rich
Page 31 and 32: Tweets of the Week Follow Frank on
Page 33 and 34: Charles: The forgotten man By Roy A
Page 35 and 36: OH NO! WITHOUT OUR PRECIOUS X-WOMEN

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