The Pembroke Roman Catholic Diocese and a retired priest who is serving time for abusing young boys are being slapped with 11 civil lawsuits.
Retired Msgr. Bernard Prince was sentenced in January to four years in prison for routinely abusing 13 young victims dating back to the 1960s.
Eleven of his victims have now filed lawsuits against him, seeking more than $22 million in damages. One victim is suing for $1.5 million.
A publication ban prevents the media from identifying any of the victims.
The lawyer for the victims involved in the civil lawsuits alleges Church officials knew about the abuse in 1968, and did nothing to prevent further indecent acts from happening.
"For anyone not familiar with the effects of sexual abuse upon young people, these men can tell you that it's devastating," lawyer Robert Talach told reporters at a news conference in Pembroke, Ont. on Monday.
Living in the shadow of a dark secret
One of the victims told CTV News he lived in the shadow of the abuse for 25 years.
"It was a secret that I couldn't tell anybody," he said.
That victim, now 42-years-old, said he was 17 when he was sexually abused.
"For a long period of time, it was my fault," he said.
While he went through a long period of dealing with the pain on his own, he is now one of 13 men who have come forward with similar stories.
Demanding an apology
Some of those victims are now also demanding an apology from the Church.
But Bruce Pappin of the Pembroke diocese says the Church has already issued the apology those victims are seeking.
"There is an apology to the victims in our statement that's on our website," said Pappin. "Really, our focus is on compassion and healing and closure for the victims."
The 72-year-old former priest is currently serving time after he pleaded guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault. He was also found guilty on one other count of indecent assault.
With a report from CTV's Chris Day
