A retired Essex County priest is set to stand trial in March for allegations of abuse, and now Rev. Linus Bastien is also facing a civil lawsuit.

Three men - who all allege they were abused by Bastien in the 1970s - are suing for $3.1-million.

But their lawyer says its not about the money - the men are going to civil court to get some answers.

First arrested in 2011, Bastien faces 30 criminal charges including; gross indecency, indecent assault and one count of sexual assault on a person under 14 years old.

One of his alleged victims says the last four years have been a roller-coaster ride of emotions, with no answers, so he and two others have filed a civil suit hoping to get Bastien's side of the story.

'John's' identity is being concealed because he says he was abused when Bastien was a priest at St. Paul Parish in LaSalle in the mid-1970s.

"It was basically, when I first brought this forward to authorities, once again it was basically denied that it never, ever happened, that I was an opportunist," he says.

That was four years ago. John says admitting to his alleged abuse was hard enough, but he says the slow wheels of justice are victimizing him once again.

"You look and you say, 'Is this ever going to come to a point where someone is going to say, yes, it happened and it needs to be addressed?'"

Attorney Robert Talach has filed a civil lawsuit in London on behalf of three men who all alleged they were abused but the now 89-year-old Bastien.

"This resort to a civil lawsuit is an expression of frustration by these men...If he dies, or is incompetent before the criminal trial, we all know that would end the criminal process. That would be wholly unsatisfactory for the complainants and that is why a parallel, civil lawsuit has been started now."

Talach says in a civil lawsuit Bastien and officials with the Diocese of London would be compelled to testify. Neither, he adds, must testify in a criminal case.

Bastien's defence lawyer Pat Ducharme says the nature of cases like this are one of the reasons why the case is moving slowly through the court.

"Particularly when you have many different charges, alleged by different [people], and all of the allegations aren't made simultaneously."

Ducharme says Bastien is in good health, but his client too would like to see these matters concluded as soon as possible.

"I don't like when cases take too long to come to court either, because witnesses die, sometimes the accused have difficulty remembering events that were 30, 40 years ago."

Emma Moynihan, communications coordinator for the Diocese of London, says Bastien will be receiving a defence lawyer through the diocese.

She adds that the diocese has offered counselling to alleged victims of abuse, and will continue to do so.

"We want to live up to our responsibilities and our obligations to those victims to ensure they receive fair and reasonable settlements through all the court proceedings that need to happen."

Bastien is expected back in court on Jan. 11, when Ducharme says he'll be asking the court to quash some of the charges because he they are old charges and the law has changed.

For example, many of the charges are for gross indecency, which Ducharme says no longer exist in our laws.

Ducharme says regardless of what happens, he still expects the trial will begin March 7, because he's not asking for all of the charges to be quashed.

None of the allegations against Bastien have been proven in court.