Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1965-1977 · 12 years · show in timeline

Mount Cashel orphanage: abuse by Christian Brothers and an arrangement with the justice system (Hughes Commission)

In 1975 the police investigated sexual abuse of boys at the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's, run by the Christian Brothers. The state Hughes Commission found that the police leadership forced the investigator to delete the abuse allegations from his report. The Deputy Minister of Justice and the Provincial of the Christian Brothers agreed to withdraw two accused brothers from Newfoundland; in return charges were not brought. The commission called such leniency a "clear travesty of justice".

Period
1965-1977 (12 years)
Country
Canada
Institutions
Congregation of Christian Brothers (Canadian Province)
Mount Cashel orphanage
Department of Justice of Newfoundland
Category
Violence, Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?
The Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, around 1975
The Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, around 1975 Image: Crybeach, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. According to the commission, the allegations of former children from Mount Cashel do not point to isolated cases but to a morbid condition that existed over many years. As early as the 1960s a brother about whom a crying boy complained was flown to Ontario for treatment the same night; there were no charges.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 222
    „indicate conduct not only not confined to isolated instances of child abuse but the existence of a morbid condition of many years standing.“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 222. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 222
    „the offending Brother was on an aircraft that night for treatment in Ontario. Not surprisingly, no charges were laid“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 222. Original

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. On the orders of the police leadership, the investigator in charge had to end his investigation prematurely in 1975 and rewrite his reports so that all allegations of sexual abuse of children at Mount Cashel were removed. The commission regarded this as a unique departure from police practice.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 209
    „caused Robert Hillier to cease his investigation before it was completed, to alter his report and to write that of December 18, 1975 and that of March 3, 1976 under direction to exclude all allegations of sexual abuse of children at Mount Cashel.“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 209. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 208
    „was a unique departure from accepted policy and practice.“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 208. Original
  2. In January 1977 the Deputy Minister of Justice wrote that, in view of the measures taken by the Christian Brothers, no further police action was necessary. The child welfare authority did not receive the police reports.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 216
    „in view of the action taken by the Christian Brothers further police action is unwarranted“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 216. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 218
    „the contents of the two police reports in question were not made available to the director“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 218. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. The former Deputy Minister of Social Services testified before the commission that physical abuse had been part of the way of life of the Christian Brothers. According to the report, the Mount Cashel orphanage under the order's management no longer existed, which was largely attributable to the events described.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 220
    „that "physical abuse was part of the way of life of the Christian Brothers"“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 220. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 219
    „Mount Cashel under the stewardship of the Christian Brothers is no more. Its demise must to a large extent be attributed to the events described“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 219. Original

Witness accounts and records

Witness Testimony of a young teacher before the commission about a pupil in 1974 and his own inaction

In the first term Johnny had come into Mr. Hatch's classroom crying and saying "Mr. Hatch, he beat the shit out of me". Hatch said there were many bruises on his body and when asked who had done it Johnny said "Brother English". Hatch then took him to see Mrs. Whalen who eventually said, "What can I do about it?" and as he ruefully admitted he did not do anything himself.

Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador: Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. III, S. 80 (PDF-S. 107). Original

Background

Course of events

  1. The first documented incidents date from between 1965 and 1968; the police matter ended in January 1977.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 222
    „while living there under the superintendency of Brother Murray between 1965 and 1968“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 222. Original

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. In the later criminal proceedings against a brother, the order's side demanded that the hearing be held in camera, on the grounds that even a single disclosure could be fatal to the reputation of the order. Christian Brothers in the courtroom protested audibly against the charges, as if the order could look after the brother in its own way.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. III, S. 164
    „the demand for concealment by in camera proceedings could be supported by the view that one disclosure could fatally prejudice the reputation of an order like the Christian Brothers of Canada“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. III, S. 164. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. III, S. 164
    „the audible comments of Christian Brothers inside the court protesting the position taken by the Crown as if it were a safe assumption that the congregation could look after Brother Burton in its own way“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. III, S. 164. Original

Who received the assets, who profited?

  1. The home was supported with state money: in 1974, at the request of the Provincial, the Minister of Social Services had a loan of 450,000 dollars for the renovation of Mount Cashel guaranteed by the state. In 1991 the commission recommended that all victims who had been sexually abused at Mount Cashel as wards of the state be compensated through an arbitration procedure.
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. I, S. 26
    „persuading the government to guarantee a loan of $450,000 in response to a need expressed in a letter to him from the provincial superior of November 20, 1974“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. I, S. 26. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. XI, S. 488, Recommendation 33
    „That the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador invite all claimants against it for compensation on the grounds of having suffered sexual abuse at the hands of persons entrusted with their care at Mount Cashel“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. XI, S. 488, Recommendation 33. Original

Response of the Church

  1. The Deputy Minister of Justice instructed the Provincial of the Christian Brothers to transfer the two accused brothers out of Newfoundland. According to the commission, there was thus an arrangement: removal of the brothers on the one hand, suspension of charges on the other. The evidence would have been sufficient; to exercise leniency openly would have been a "clear travesty of justice".
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 215
    „he told me to transfer the two brothers from communities in Newfoundland to elsewhere within the Canadian Province.“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 215. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 217
    „Therefore there was agreement as to the terms of the transaction: their removal on the one hand, and the suspension of charges on the other“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 217. Original
    Evidence: Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador, Kap. V, S. 217
    „There could be little doubt of the sufficiency of the evidence and prosecutorial discretion exercised in their favour, openly and at the time, would have been a clear travesty of justice.“
    Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One, Kap. V, S. 217. Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Government report
    Royal Commission of Inquiry (Commissioner Samuel H. S. Hughes), Regierung von Neufundland und Labrador: Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Response of the Newfoundland Criminal Justice System to Complaints, Volume One. Original (retrieved 12 Oct 2026)
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Last changed on 22 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.