Longhurst's comments, reported in the widely read publication La Croix International, are strongly critical of the very people from whom he receives his daily bread.

New Zealand's Catholic bishops employ him to teach at Te Kupenga Catholic Theological College.

He is also the leader of SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Citing numerous broken promises, inadequate responses and apparent lack of accountability, Longhust (pictured) says "They [the bishops] have brought great shame on the New Zealand Catholic Church".

He says the bishops are overlooking the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and adds that its final report, which shows their lack of accountability and transparency in responding to pervasive abuse, merits serious condemnation.

"Given such a finding, perhaps it would be best for the local Church and New Zealand society if those church leaders, the bishops, tendered their resignations to the pope" he says.

The problem is longstanding and is not just about the current leaders, Longhurst points out.

He says 22 years ago, a bishops' pastoral letter on abuse said "We give you an assurance of our commitment to confront this problem with openness and transparency".

Despite this assurance, the Inquiry found the Catholic bishops did not honour this commitment.

"Evidently they are not capable of making the required changes" Longhurst says.

"By such repetitive misbehaviour, they are keeping us all at risk, endangering more children and vulnerable people in the care of New Zealand's Catholic Church.

"Therefore, they themselves must be changed. They must resign."

Episcopal accountability

After publication of the Royal Commission's final report, the Catholic bishops promised "to ensure that the findings and recommendations of this significant Inquiry are not lost or confined to words in a report" Longhurst explains.

Longhurst has accused the bishops and congregational leaders of a lack of transparency.

He says he has had no response from the bishops.

Survivors appeal

Catholic survivors in New Zealand have appealed to Pope Francis three times since 2022 to ask him to hold the bishops to account.

They also asked him to respect his own calls for openness and transparency in dealing with survivors' complaints.

In addition, they asked Francis to help dismantle what they continue to call the local church's system of coverup and denial that is harming so many people.

So far they have not had a reply.

Source

• La Croix

The State government rejected 22 of the inquiry's 33 recommendations, which included allowing the names of known child abusers to be published prominently on church websites.

Just 11 of the 33 inquiry committee's recommendations were accepted by the government or accepted in principle.

Another 14 are being examined further; eight were rejected.

Two recommendations relating to permanent stays were rejected.

These occur when the court halts child abuse proceedings because it considers there is no possibility of a fair trial due to the passage of time, deterioration of evidence or death of the accused.

The inquiry recommended permanent stay applications be allowed only after the end of the trial and that any permanent stays granted against child sexual abuse claims prior to that judgement should be reconsidered.

But it "would result in a court hearing a trial that was necessarily unfair or an abuse of process and could be constitutionally invalid" the government decided.

Abuse survivors lash out

Terry Martino (pictured), an advocate from the group Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA), is furious at the government's response - and that the SOCA discovered the report had been tabled in the House only after a call from ABC News.

"Survivors bared their souls at the inquiry, they shared the most intimate details of their abuse and the impact it's had on their lives" he said.

"To find out that information was then used to form a report that was then, in large part and in many cases, rejected by the government, it's actually quite cruel.

"It's appalling conduct.

"The report opens with the government stating that they acknowledge the strength of survivors. These are meaningless words that infuriate survivors."

Vigilante fears

Although it would not permit institutions to name abusers on their websites, the government did have recommendations about what might be put there.

It said institutions should adopt the inquiry's recommendations that their websites include policy statements about child safety as well as information about how to report child sexual abuse.

There are significant risks in creating a public register of abusers said the government report tabling its decision. These include defamation actions and breaches of confidentiality provisions in existing legislation.

The WA government said international experience with similar registers suggested public websites could lead to vigilante action against child sex offenders and others who were wrongfully accused.

"If [the names of] known perpetrators are released, it will make it much easier for survivors to come forward and share their experiences, because they'll realise they're not the only ones" Martino argued.

On the cards

The government is considering a recommendation that it fund a new role for a Commissioner for Victims of Crime.

It will also - as recommended - determine if there are any gaps in support and advice to survivors and how these might be addressed.

In addition, it will consider further a recommendation to expand victims' access to the National Redress Scheme.

Source

• ABC

The survivors argue that such measures are necessary to protect children worldwide.

The US policy, often referred to as "one strike and you're out", requires the permanent removal of a priest from ministry following a single substantiated or admitted act of abuse. It was approved during the US clergy abuse scandal which came to light through investigative reporting in The Boston Globe.

However, the Vatican did not introduce this policy. Global survivor networks have urged Pope Francis to implement this approach universally.

In other regions, priests found guilty of abusing minors are often assigned limited ministry roles. Sometimes, they are simply prohibited from presenting themselves as clergy rather than being formally removed from the priesthood.

The proposal stems from a June meeting in Rome during a rare collaboration between survivors and church safeguarding experts. Participants included safeguarding leaders such as Rev. Hans Zollner as well as survivor groups and diplomats from multiple countries.

"Despite Pope Francis' repeated calls for zero tolerance on abuse, his words have yet to lead to any real action" said Gemma Hickey, president of Ending Clergy Abuse and herself a survivor of abuse.

Cultural differences cited

Supporters of the global policy, such as US canon lawyer Nicholas Cafardi, believe applying the US norms internationally would strengthen the Church's ability to combat abuse. "Let's just make it universal law" Cafardi suggested. He noted that this would remove the need for bishops in individual countries to request approval repeatedly.

Yet, the Vatican has resisted a one-size-fits-all approach, citing the need for proportionality and the recognition of cultural differences. This stance has led to lighter punishments in some countries compared to US standards, drawing criticism from survivors and advocates.

Abuse survivors and officials also demanded a clarification about the application and applicability of Vos Estis Lux Mundi, the Vatican document covering abuse, issued in 2019.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, told the National Catholic Reporter that the law's impact has been "insignificant".

"We have no idea how many bishops have been investigated under Vos Estis. BishopAccountability tries to count them, but the information is so vague" she said.

"Safeguarding is not just a legal or organisational matter—it is a moral and spiritual imperative" Rev. Zollner said. "Only by confronting the past openly and taking decisive action can we begin to rebuild the trust that has been so severely broken."

Sources

AP News

Crux

CathNews New Zealand

The women said Pope Francis' recent gestures and an apparent effort to exonerate him publicly showed church pledges of "zero tolerance" were just a "publicity stunt."

In an open letter published on an Italian survivor advocate site, the women lashed out at a declaration from the Vicariate of Rome, which Francis nominally heads as bishop of Rome and recently tightened his grip over.

The Vicariate reported Monday that it had uncovered "seriously anomalous procedures" used in the Vatican investigation into the Rev Marko Ivan Rupnik.

Read More

On Thursday, three deaf Argentines marched to St. Peter's Square. They were among the victims of violent sexual abuse by priests in the Argentine branch of the Provolo Institute, a Catholic-run school for the deaf that also saw dozens of victims at its school in Verona, Italy.

Recently, an Argentine court convicted two Provolo priests of repeatedly violating the children — including one who also was flagged to Francis as early as in 2014 as an abuser in Verona. "Support the Provolo survivors," read a banner carried by the victims in front of St. Peter's Square. Read more