Anglican Church working on formal apology for damage wrought by pedophile priest
OTTAWA — The Anglican Church of Canada says it is working on a formal national apology to the victims of a notorious priest who preyed on boys in First Nations communities in the 1970s and 1980s.
Ralph Rowe was a former air force pilot and police officer who was ordained in 1975. As a priest and a Scout leader, he assaulted boys in more than a dozen remote communities in northwestern Ontario.
He was convicted on dozens of counts, but served only about five years in jail.
In a statement on Friday, Anglican Church general secretary Michael Thompson acknowledged the anguish Rowe left in his wake.