Father Erlindo Molon Abuse
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops turned a blind eye to the sexual misconduct of a “playboy priest” in the 1970s and is now liable for more than $800,000 awarded to one of the women he abused, a B.C. judge has ruled.
Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner had ample evidence that Father Erlindo Molon was taking advantage of his female parishioners before he initiated an unwanted sexual relationship with a young teacher named Rosemary Anderson in the fall of 1976, according to a judgment handed down Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court.
“The diocese failed the plaintiff profoundly in a moment of great need. Bishop Exner was aware of troubling rumours about Fr. Molon as early as the spring of 1976,” Justice E. David Crossin wrote in the judgment.