Diocese won't pay Lahey's legal bills

The archbishop of Halifax says the diocese of Antigonish will not pay the legal bills of a Nova Scotia bishop facing child pornography charges.

In a statement released Monday, Halifax Archbishop Anthony Mancini, who is overseeing the Antigonish diocese, said Bishop Raymond Lahey has not asked for any financial help.

"If that request were made, it would be declined by the diocese," he said.

Marilyn Sweet, a spokeswoman for the Halifax archdiocese, said the decision was made Monday after church officials met with diocese lawyers. She said each diocese has its own protocols for dealing with legal matters.

Lahey's case has raised questions among parishioners, with some saying he should have to fight the charges on his own. The 69-year-old stepped down as bishop of the Antigonish diocese after he was charged with possessing and importing child pornography, but before those charges were made public.

According to documents available via the diocese website, the church is obliged to provide "legal support to anyone accused of a crime while acting as an agent of the diocese."

Not at monastery

Lahey, who has hired an Ottawa-based lawyer, was released on $9,000 bail on Thursday.

It was reported he would stay at the Cistercian-Trappist Monastery of Our Lady of Calvary in Rogersville, N.B., until his next court appearance on Nov. 4, but monastery officials said they were not asked to provide accommodation.

"Ultimately, some other arrangement has been made for Bishop Lahey's residence," Abbot Bede Stockill wrote in a statement posted on the monastery's website. 'We are not expecting him coming to reside here.

"The Crown Prosecution Service never formally requested my consent to Bishop Lahey's coming here, and I am not expecting them to do so."

It's not clear where Lahey is staying.

Lahey was named bishop of Antigonish in 2003. He garnered praise this summer for reaching a $15-million out-of-court settlement with people who said they were molested by priests in the diocese, dating as far back as the 1950s.

He announced his sudden retirement on Sept. 26, saying he was stepping down "for personal renewal."

Days later, Ottawa police revealed that Lahey had been stopped at the Ottawa International Airport on Sept. 15 and charged on Sept. 25 for allegedly possessing child pornography on a laptop.