Accused bishop wants to move to Ottawa

A Nova Scotia bishop facing child pornography charges is seeking a change to his bail conditions that would allow him to move to Ottawa.

Ottawa police said they were notified Tuesday that Raymond Lahey, 69, who was until recently the bishop of the Antigonish diocese in Nova Scotia, wants permission from a judge to allow the move. His current bail conditions require him to stay in Rogersville, N.B., where there is a monastery.

The Rogersville monastery said Lahey was not there Tuesday, and Ottawa police confirmed that. They said he is in New Brunswick and would report to RCMP in Rogersville on Wednesday as scheduled.

Lahey, who is originally from Newfoundland, has lived in Ottawa before, while he was a student at St. Paul's University.

Msgr. Kevin Beach of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa said he has not been in contact with Lahey and does not know the former bishop's whereabouts.

Lahey turned himself in to Ottawa police on Oct. 1, a day after the force announced Lahey was wanted on child pornography charges following the seizure of his laptop at the Ottawa International Airport on Sept. 15. He had resigned suddenly from his post less than a week earlier.