For the Church to bear vicarious liability, the priest would have to be an employee of the Church. Priests are not Church employees, the Court found.

The ruling shocked many survivors and their supporters. They want governments around the country to change the law.

Test case

In 2020, an abuse survivor from Victoria went to court arguing the Church was vicariously liable for sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Fr Bryan Coffey who abused him at two family events in 1971.

Coffey was convicted of child sex offences against other children in the 1990s and has since died.

The Victorian court found the Church vicariously liable for Coffey's offending. That decision was upheld even after the church appealed.

The Court said in both decisions that Coffey was not a Church employee, though he occupied a special place within the hierarchy of the Church, which gave rise to vicarious liability.

Most priests are neither employees, nor self-employed contractors. The relationship is pre-eminently of a spiritual character, a long-past court ruling stated.

Ruling retrograde and out-of-step

Last week the High Court found that, despite the Church's role in directing and controlling Coffey's parish activities, he was not an employee.

Vicarious liability is confined to employees, the Court explained.

Lawyer Judy Courtin declared it a day of mourning.

"It's such a retrograde step, and the High Court actually had the choice to extend the principles of vicarious liability" she said.

"But instead, we say it has chosen to abandon victims and survivors of institutional abuse."

The Australian Lawyers Association said the ruling was out-of-step with overseas practices which use a wider interpretation of vicarious liability.

"I am shocked because amongst the common law world, Australia is now on its own in not recognising activities akin to employment as giving rise to vicarious liability" the Association's Andrew Morrison said.

"This is someone who is doing the work of the bishop and the diocese and, in those circumstances, why shouldn't there be vicarious liability? And why should the Church escape responsibility on a highly technical argument?"

Morrison says the ruling lets other organisations dealing with children - like Scouts and sports bodies - off the hook too.

"Unless you can prove negligence, the principal organisation is going to be exempt from liability, and that's very troubling" Morrison said.

Legislation change

In 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard established the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

She said she was "deeply concerned" about the High Court ruling.

Gillard wants Australia's attorneys-general to urgently consider how to deliver justice to child abuse survivors.

Legal experts are warning the landmark decision could affect thousands of legal cases against religious orders nationwide.

Source

• ABC
• Sydney Morning Herald

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

"We have made changes, and we remain committed to continuing this work to ensure accountability and healing" Bishop Stephen Lowe, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, and Rev. Tom Rouse, president of the Congregational Leaders Conference, said on Friday.

"While the [Royal Commission into Abuse in Care] report chronicles a disgraceful aspect of our nation's past, it also provides us with a roadmap - continuing the work begun before the Royal Commission and extending into our future" their statement said.

Little has changed

Survivors aren't impressed and they want Catholic congregations to help make the Church accountable by pressuring Catholic clergy to admit wrongdoing and take responsibility.

They note that despite the Church's general apologies, individuals abused by clergy have not yet received any personal apologies.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says Lowe and Rouse disregard their own safeguarding principles and procedures.

SNAP accuses church leaders of deliberately misleading the New Zealand people.

It says survivors continue to report being re-victimised by Church leaders behind closed doors.

"One recently received a letter from a lawyer instructed by Lowe and Rouse's Professional Standards and National Safeguarding Offices threatening to "discontinue the inquiry into your complaints" if the complainant did not remain silent.

"The letter came after the complainant raised concerns about Lowe and Rouse's officials trying to shut down his complaint cases without completing the required investigative work."

Catholic congregations need to help

Steve Goodlass is a member of another survivor group, Male Survivors, and a survivor of clergy abuse at St Bernard's College.

Goodlass denounced the Catholic Church's response to a recent inquiry, calling it "heartbreaking and appalling".

He accused the Church of avoiding accountability.

The Church released a statement on Friday, which Goodlass criticised for being "full of rhetoric and deflection" and dismissing the ongoing impact on survivors.

"The apology meant nothing" he said, noting repeated references to abuse as being in the past.

"If you have a tail for this sort of stuff that's 40 years long, who would say that's in the past?" Goodlass said.

ACC system not good enough

The State, through ACC, provides compensation regardless of who is at fault, whether it's a workplace injury, road accident, or injury that occurred at home or during leisure activities.

However, Goodlass urged the Church to break with the country's law and protocol, and establish its own comprehensive redress scheme to provide better support for survivors.

Current redress payments were "pitiful" he said.

Goodlass accused the Church of not stepping up to fund counselling and support groups.

The church had "just sat there" and waited for the state's response, he said.

"It's really hard knowing that I am paying for my own therapy through my taxes, while the Church does nothing" he said.

Church funds counselling

A spokesperson for the Catholic Church says counselling was offered as standard practice when allegations of abuse were presented to the church's professional standards office.

Sources

• RNZ
• Scoop

Adams (pictured) chose to speak to media about the report so he could put a face to the Church's response to the Royal Commission's findings.

The Royal Commission found between 1950 and 2019 over 250,000 vulnerable people were abused and neglected at places where they were meant to be cared for, including faith-based institutions.

The Church's culture has been changing since the early 2000s, Adams told Stuff. The Royal Commission's report has prompted further changes which are now embedded throughout the country.

Change well underway

The changes in the Church began after the Boston Globe newspaper revealed widespread sexual abuse by priests in the US, Adams says.

The closed mouth silence about sex abuse that was prevalent then no longer exists. A generation later there's zero appetite for that culture in the Church, he says.

Where in the past there was no accountability and leaders failed, checks and balances are now in place to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Just the same, it is important to avoid assuming the old culture remains in the past. "There are vulnerabilities still" he says.

Changes made

Adams summarises a swathe of changes the Catholic Church in New Zealand has instigated:

• All New Zealand's Catholic parishes have material about safeguarding
• All volunteers who will work with others are given safeguarding training and must have a police check.
• Police checks are mandatory for anyone applying to join the seminary to become a priest and must undergo psychological testing
• All dioceses in New Zealand have safeguarding officers
• A national office for professional standards has been set up to promote safeguarding and hear complainants. It has an independent complaint process
• Priests are expected to complete safeguarding qualifications
• Accusations against church members result in their being stood down and their accusers are advised to contact the police
• Priests found guilty of profound misconduct are no longer involved in active ministry

Redress

The Government is now turning its attention to providing redress for the survivors. What this will involve will be announced later this year.

Adams says the Church will wait for the Government to announce its strategy before considering redress. This could include compensation and providing counselling, he said.

He encourages anyone who has been abused to go to the police. They may also contact the national office for professional standards, his office or survivor groups.

Source

• Stuff

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865/ 0508 TAUTOKO (24/7). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (24/7) or text 4202
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
• What's Up: free counselling for 5 to 19 years old, online chat 11am-10.30pm 7days/week or free phone 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 11am-11pm Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm or text 832 Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
• Healthline: 0800 611 116
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463 (6pm-9pm)
• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sexual Violence

• NZ Police
• Victim Support 0800 842 846
• Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
• Rape Prevention Education
• Empowerment Trust
• HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655- push 0 at the menu
• Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800044334
• Male Survivors Aotearoa
• Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496

The synthesis report summarises synodal discussions about how a synodal Church's ministries and structures can give a wider role for laity which is more in line with the vision of Vatican II.

Big issues discussed at the synod were identified in its two-year lead-up, and besides reporting on the past month, the report also lays the foundation for the second part of the Synod scheduled for October 2024.

At the time of CathNews publication, the report was only available in Italian!

• Note: The report is now available in English as a PDF document.

The synthesis report

The synthesis report outlines key proposals discussed between some 450 participants from around the world.

It covers off areas of convergence, matters for consideration and proposals that are expected to set the stage for further debate throughout the year ahead of next year's assembly.

For the first time ever at a Synod of Bishops, voting members included lay women, laymen and other non-bishops.

Voting on the document was taken paragraph by paragraph on Saturday.

A two-thirds majority vote threshold was set for passing each paragraph.

Although the report makes 81 proposals, many are open-ended or general.

Further theological or canonical study, evaluation or consideration is called for at least 20 times.

Yes and No votes

More than 80 proposals were approved in the synod vote.

These include establishing a new "baptismal ministry of listening and accompaniment," initiating discernment processes for decentralising the Church and giving lectors a preaching ministry.

The most 'no' votes - accounting for about a fifth of the delegates - were given to two primary paragraphs addressing the possibility of women deacons.

One passed by a vote of 277-69; the other by 279-67.

"That means that the resistance [to women's leadership] is not so great as people have thought" the Vatican's Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich said.

A paragraph addressing the question of clerical celibacy also received substantial No votes, but passed at 291-55.

Women

The synthesis report does not call immediately for the ordination of women as deacons. Nor does it mention calls for priestly ordination for women.

It does include however, a "clear request" from the assembly that women's contributions "would be recognised and valued, and that their pastoral leadership increased in all areas."

The synthesis report also questions how the Church can include more women in existing ministries.

"If new ministries are required, who should discern these, at what levels and in what ways?" it asks.

The Church must address employment injustices and unfair remuneration for women in the church "especially for women in consecrated life."

Liturgical text and church document reviews will ensure language is considerate to both men and women and draws more widely on women's experience.

Archbishop Paul Martin and Fr James Martin SJ in their Synod group.

LGBTQ Catholics

The report seemed to largely glosses over the tensions that emerged over how the Church should respond to LGBTQ Catholics.

Jesuit Fr James Martin, editor of the LGBTQ Catholic publication Outreach, says he was "disappointed but not surprised" by the result for LGBTQ Catholics.

"There were widely diverging views on the topic," says Martin, who was a synod voting member.

"I wish however that some of those discussions, which were frank and open, had been captured in the final synthesis."

It is a point emphasised by Cardinal Blaise Cupich in a conversation with America Magazine.

No one should feel excluded and we have to get to know people, Cupich said.

However he admitted that while trying to pick up on what people said perhaps the document could have expressed the nuances a little better.

Cupich said there was explicit reference to LGBTQ issues in the groups he was in and the lack of explicit reference does not mean we're not going to return to it again next year.

He said there was greater discussion about LGBTQ issues than there was about polygamy, yet polygamy was named in the document.

Cardinal Mario Grech says the assembly felt a need to "respect everyone's pace" regarding LGBTQ questions.

"It doesn't mean if your voice is stronger it will prevail."

Clergy abuse

The synthesis report proposes creating further structures to prevent abuse.

These include the possibility of establishing a new body to review abuse cases that does not rely on bishops.

"The appropriateness of assigning the judicial task to another body, to be specified canonically, should be explored."

The report also recommends women receive formation "to enable them to be judges in all canonical processes."

Other key proposals

In a move signalling shift within the Catholic Church, the synod's final document outlines several key proposals aimed at fostering inclusivity and unity among its diverse communities. Among the recommendations:

• The development of "new paradigms" for pastoral engagement with Indigenous communities, emphasizing a collaborative journey rather than actions imposed upon them
• The formation of a "permanent council" comprising leaders from Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, tasked with advising the pope on challenges facing these communities
• An expanded invitation to delegates from other Christian denominations for the October 2024 assembly, in a bid to foster ecumenical dialogue
• A strong expression of desire from the assembly for the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations to establish a common date for the celebration of Easter

Source

• NCR Online
• Catholic News Agency
• America Magazine

The Waikato Times reports a woman from within the Hamilton Catholic diocese saying that in a meeting with Lowe, she told him she was raped by a Catholic priest who had visited her house to perform a blessing.

In the course of the conversation, the Times discloses the woman says Lowe told her, "SNAP have blown things out of proportion at the Royal Commission [of Inquiry into Abuse in Care]."

The comments left her feeling "the church has let me down," she says.

"I was shaking, and it caused me to cry because the Bishop brought back a feeling that what the priest did to me was not significant.

"When survivors speak up against the abuse then the Bishop thinks this is out of proportion. I would like to know what a proportionate response is to being raped by a priest, as I was."

With legal matters continuing, the Waikato Times sought an interview with Lowe about the woman's experience but says the diocese responded with an emailed statement from Lowe.

Quoting from part of the email, The Times reports Lowe indicated he had been "actively helping [the woman] in my role as Bishop.

"I am not able to breach the confidentiality of my work with her by discussing it in public."

However, the abuse victim complained to a Catholic abuse Survivor network (SNAP) about Lowe and his response to her disclosure.

Against the background of ongoing legal matters, SNAP's national leader Dr Christopher Longhurst is looking to Lowe for a more pastoral resolution to his comment and the effect it had on the woman.

"I am sorry that Bishop Lowe has not been upfront with an explanation as to what he said," says Longhurst. "I do not believe this has anything to do with confidentiality. Privacy and confidentiality pertain to personal information, not to process or requests for clarification."

"To me, the Bishop's response seems like an example of the three Ds of avoiding accountability: deny, deflect, diffuse. A straightforward and honest response to our request for clarification would have been more appropriate," Longhurst adds.

"Stonewalling, silence and denial are the constant response from this Bishop," says Longhurst.

Longhurst feels an apology to the woman "would have been more appropriate and is still warranted".

Source

• The Waikato Times

It has brought to end a highly distressing period for Father John Goodwin, who is known for his engaging character and who always maintained his innocence.

The accuser was an Australian gang associate serving more than 10 years in jail for trafficking million of dollars in drugs, including amphetamines, MDMA and cocaine.

He was still behind bars when his lawyer Angela Sdrinis filed a civil suit in the Tasmanian Supreme Court in 2021. Read more

The accusations on Polish TV channel TVN24 have sparked a national debate.

Some defend the late pontiff's legacy, while others demand justice for the victims and accountability for those who may have covered up the abuse.

The period scrutinised in the documentary is the 1960s and 1970s before Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in 1978.

John Paul II is viewed as a national hero in Poland because of his opposition to communism and strong influence on Polish politics and culture.

However, the scandal is being used by some to score political points.

Some in Poland have said that the allegations should lead to a reassessment of John Paul II's legacy.

Members of the opposition alliance, The Left, is calling for John Paul II to be 'cancelled,' removing his name from public spaces, including schools and kindergartens named after him.

However, Poland's conservative political alliance, the United Right, has seized the opportunity to divert attention from its problems.

The Law and Justice party (PiS), the largest party in the alliance, is under pressure due to rising prices and several corruption scandals.

The government's response was swift and strongly worded: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the accusations "an attempt to trigger a culture war in Poland."

Culture Minister Piotr Glinski went so far as to say that "an attack on the pope is an attack on Poland".

The current archbishop of Krakow, Marek Jedraszewski, sang a similar tune, speaking of a "second assassination attempt on John Paul II" - a reference to a gunman who seriously injured John Paul II in the Vatican in May 1981.

"Wojtyla was a child of his era"

Yet the dispute about the accusations against John Paul II transcends the usual left-right political divide.

An icon of Poland's liberal opposition, Adam Michnik, the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, has called on people not to reduce the pope to the clerical sex abuse scandal.

"Wojtyla was a child of his era. What is a matter of course for us today was not a matter of course 40 years ago," said Michnik.

Pope Francis has called for understanding.

"You have to put things in the context of the era. [...] At that time everything was covered up. […] It was only when the Boston scandal broke that the church began to look at the problem," said the pope in a recent interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.

The Polish Bishops' Conference responded to the documentary by stating that further archival research was necessary to evaluate Karol Wojtyla's decisions and actions.

Furthermore, they announced the formation of an independent team to investigate cases of sexual abuse by clerics in all dioceses and religious orders in Poland.

Sources

Deutsche Welle (DW)

The Irish Times

CathNews New Zealand

The fact that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla — the future Pope John Paul II—knew about abuse when he was an archbishop of Krakow, Poland, is neither new nor surprising, experts say.

Others agree and are defending Poland's national hero.

Government figures, including the Prime Minister, have strongly defended John Paul as a national hero and the country's highest moral authority.

The lower house of parliament passed a resolution defending John Paul as the "most outstanding Pole in history," but many opposition members walked out or abstained from voting.

Leftist politicians, seized on allegations that he knowingly protected predator priests. Some called for John Paul's name to be taken off street and school names.

Polish bishops' conference president, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki,is strongly defending the late pope and appealing to "all people of good will" to not destroy his legacy.

"Further archival research" is needed to fairly assess a new allegation, the conference says.

At present, the abuse claims are based on communist secret police records. These allege the late pope covered up child sexual abuse by a priest.

The bishops conference has invited the American ambassador to Poland for "talks" about the claims, which were raised in a report on a U.S. company Warner Bros Discovery channel.

The report named three priests whom John Paul allegedly moved around during the 1970s after they were accused of abusing minors.

The cases are "proof" John Paul "covered up" abuse. But for historians and experts in Poland, the situation is much more complicated.

The allegation was included in a documentary broadcast March 6 on Polish television channel TVN24.

What remains to be answered is what he knew, from whom he knew it, and how much of his decisions regarding abusive priests were influenced by the anti-church actions of the communist Security Service (SB), Polish experts say.

The SB often falsely accused good priests of immoral behaviour only to discredit them, they point out.

"The type of complaints about the priest should be in his personal file in the curia," Rafal Latka, professor of history at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, said.

"If the curia in Krakow decided to open the archives to historians, we could investigate the reasons for the cardinal's decision."

Furthermore, "we could verify whether there was any more communications regarding that case," Latka said.

It is improbable that at the time of communism, Wojtyla would specifically point out in a letter to another cardinal that a priest he was sending to him was an abuser.

"The regime was checking the letters sent through the national post," he said.

The Church should decide on an independent commission to investigate the past, one that is "independent and lay-based," Latka added.

Source

• America Magazine
• AP News
• Catholic News Agency

The pope departed from a prepared speech during a meeting with the Order of the Mother of God, the Basilian Order of St Josephat and the Congregation of the Mission.

Francis spoke about the problem of the abuse of minors and vulnerable persons.

He strongly emphasised a policy of "zero tolerance" for such abuse.

"Please," he said, "do not hide this reality. Don't be ashamed to speak out".

The head of the Catholic Church said a problem of abuse "is not solved by a transfer. From this continent, I send him to another… No."

"We are religious; we are priests to bring people to Jesus," said the pontiff, adding that the abuser "destroys".

It is not enough to accompany the abuser, he told the religious. It is necessary to "protect others."

"Please remember this well: zero tolerance on abuse against children or disabled persons; zero tolerance."

Pope Francis said he interrupted his traditional July break from meetings to gather with the three orders because religious life "is so important in the church, but there isn't always time. Indeed, in this vacation holiday, it is usually closed. But for you, it has been opened".

The pontiff also expressed his concern about the danger of getting used to and "forgetting the Ukrainian drama" which, he lamented, is now on "page nine" of the newspaper.

Giving special recognition to the Basilian Fathers, an Eastern-Catholic order whose members work primarily in Ukraine and eastern Europe, the pope expressed his closeness with the congregation's members "in this moment of martyrdom for your homeland".

"I would like to tell you that I am close to you, the whole church is close to all of you," the pope said. "We accompany you as we can in your pain."

Sources

• America Magazine
• Aleteia

Survivor advocates are critical of the move, saying providing guidance could help cast accused priests in an overly sympathetic light.

The Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP) say the guidance is necessary.

It notes over the last 20 years diocesan leaders have failed to respect priests' rights under canon law. In some cases the accused clerics have languished in administrative "limbo" for several years while civil and church authorities investigate allegations.

The AUSCP is mailing the guidelines and an accompanying wallet-sized card to the United States' 30,000-plus diocesan and religious priests.

"We're not taking a position on whether someone is guilty or not guilty. We're saying there's due process, here's what it is, and we will help you access it if you don't get that help from your diocese," AUSCP says.

AUSCP members say they're not looking to deflect attention from survivors or obstruct investigations of clergy sex abuse. Abusers should be held accountable for their crimes, they stress.

The critics

While they agree that due process is important, clergy sexual abuse survivors and their advocates say placing too much emphasis on the accused priests' plight risks a return the days of dismissing victims and protecting abusers.

Falsely accused priests' anguish is "minor compared with the pain, the loss and the betrayal experienced by survivors, their families and their parish communities," says one concerned commentator.

Another cited research that he said underscores the reality that the ranks of clergy sex abuse survivors outnumber those of falsely-accused priests" by an order of magnitude.

"We recognise that anyone accused of a crime in America has a right to due process.

"We also reaffirm that we believe survivors and will support those who come forward with allegations of abuse as, far more likely than not, their stories are true."

Justice

"I don't try to get guilty priests [acquitted], that's not my job," says a member of Justice for Priests and Deacons, an organisation that advises clergy members of their canonical rights.

Other members say clergy have rights under canon law. But Church leaders have often disregarded those rights, especially over the 20 years since the US bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The AUSCP agrees. "Perhaps the pendulum has gone too far the other way ... where you're guilty until proven innocent, which is the exact opposite of what's fair and just."

A civil and canon lawyer not affiliated with the AUSCP says he sees the initiative as "an attempt to bring the pendulum back a little bit more towards the middle, where it should be.

"The investigation should be made before you take action against the priest."

"No bishop wants to keep in place someone who does turn out to be an abuser of children," he said. "The problem is that not every charge is true."

Source

• NCR Online

"Unless someone comes to us or police with a credible accusation … Fr Minto is entitled to his good name," Fr Tim Duckworth, head of the Society of Mary said in a 2019 email obtained by Stuff.

In the email Duckworth said that a group had previously asked for Minto's portrait to be removed "based on ... rumour", reports Stuff.

Assistant Provincial of the Society of Mary, Fr Thige O'Leary told Stuff the Society is working on "framing a policy about the removal of photos and other honorifics of known abusers ... following on from themes arising out of the testimony of victims/survivors at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

"The policy will need to include a wide range of considerations including that it respects the wishes of victims/survivors while at the same time acknowledging the rights to a ‘fair hearing' of any whose photos or honorifics are to be removed."

O'Leary said that removing photos at Silverstream was based on whether complaints have been upheld.

He told Stuff that in the case of Pat Minto the church had one complaint, and it had not been upheld.

The commission denied a request from the Catholic Church's lawyers to suppress Minto's name from the public record.

Minto, who was a teacher at the school in the 1950s and then rector in the early 1970s, was named as an alleged abuser last November at the Royal Commission into state and religious abuse.

A victim of abuse at Silverstream told Stuff he had narrowly escaped abuse by Minto.

Tina Cleary (pictured) appeared at the Royal Commission reading the testimony of her late father, Patrick Cleary.

Patrick Cleary died in July 2020, aged 82, before he could give his statement to the Royal Commission.

During Patrick Cleary's submission, he named Minto and another former rector, Fr Frank Durning as abusing him.

Cleary said he did not address his abuse for 68 years because of shame.

There was also no one to confide in, he said.

It was not until homosexual law reform in 1986 that he laid a complaint with police, who took no action.

He also made two complaints to the Society of Mary, one of which was upheld in 2009, and Durning's photo was finally removed.

Tina Cleary told the Royal Commission that her father did not want to be defined by the damage done to him.

"He was a farmer, a writer, and a rugby lover. He had high regard for what was fair and was just.

"Dad was really courageous and even in his death, he was courageous.

"He was a giant in his death, he was 10 times the size of himself", she told the Commission.

Source

• Stuff
• NZ Herald

"An apology is the beginning," said Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme. "An apology is required, and the rebuilding of a relationship would follow the apology."

The Saskatchewan First Nation made international headlines earlier this year with the discovery of potentially 751 unmarked graves near the former Catholic-run Marieval Indian Residential School.

Delorme said an apology would verify and validate the pain many survivors still live with today.

Read More

Instead, I started crying.

I don't cry easily. And these were not tears borne of sadness but of frustration.

On Tuesday morning, an independent commission reported that priests and church workers in France have abused over 330,000 children over the past seven decades. As usual, the church too often turned a blind eye to the molestation.

I am 21 years old. None of my conscious life has occurred during a time when the church was not known for its history of sexual abuse.

But I remained, attending a Catholic high school and joining the undergraduate leadership of Yale's Catholic chapel.

I believe wholeheartedly in the good intentions of the church and its ability to be a force for good across the world.

Or rather, I believe a version of that.

Most of what we know about the abuse crisis comes from news articles—not conversations among congregants at the local level.

I have attended many parishes over the years, and only one has bothered to repeatedly name the victims of sexual abuse during the Prayers of the Faithful.

And though I believe that is a start, even those weekly mentions have begun to ring hollow.

While the phrase "sex abuse" was jarring the first time I heard it in an otherwise quiet church, over time it has become one of many rocks in the river: For Pope Francis. For our armed forces and first responders. For the victims of the sex abuse crisis. For the sick. For the dead.

For the victims of the sex abuse crisis," we pray. No, for the victims of the church, for that is what they are.

It has been said that if you say a word aloud to yourself enough, it will lose all meaning.

You would think that "sex abuse" could not become commonplace, but in our petitions, it has—until something like France happens. Because that's the thing: It always happens again.

A few days ago I asked on Twitter: "When you think of the Catholic Church, what comes to mind? Comment or DM me honest answers—good, bad, and everything in between."

Answers ran the gamut.

"Beautiful icons, painted glass windows," wrote one respondent. "Sexual abuse, especially of minors. (Sorry, you did say be honest)," wrote another. "Immorality! Sex Exploitation. Pretence," wrote a third.

I had asked this question before Tuesday's revelations, and I remember feeling vaguely sad that the church I have devoted so much mental, physical and spiritual energy to was known to the public primarily for art and abuse.

But now, as I reread responses, with fresh knowledge of the French cases pounding within my mind, I feel more than vague sadness; I feel a deep, bitter frustration.

Somewhere between my Twitter poll and Tuesday's revelations, I read an article by Ryan Burge on Religion Unplugged that quantified the birth rates in the United States of different faith traditions, in addition to the average ages of those faith traditions.

The average Catholic is 52 years old, just one year younger than the average Protestant, who had the oldest mean age of all of the faiths.

And later, a starker reality: "Christianity is ageing, younger generations are having fewer children, and without a great influx of new members, thousands of churches will close over the next few decades."

That is bad news for Catholics, which as of 2018 had one convert for every 6.5 people to leave the church. Continue reading

• Valerie Pavilonis is a senior at Yale University, studying English. Previously, she was an editor at the Yale Daily News.

The numbers were released, Sunday by Jean-Marc Sauvé, the head of an independent commission examining church sex abuse.

The commission has been investigating for 2 1/2 years.

22 cases of alleged crimes have been forwarded to prosecutors and more than 40 cases have been forwarded to Church officials because the alleged offences are too old to prosecute.

"From 1950 to 1970, the church is completely indifferent to the victims: They don't exist, the suffering inflicted on children is ignored," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "The periods that followed were different," said Sauvé.

He did not give a figure on the number of victims, however, the number will be released on Tuesday when the 2,500-page report is made public.

The independent commission was established in 2018 by the Catholic Church in France.

Its formation also came after Pope Francis passed a landmark measure obliging those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors.

The commission comprises 22 legal professionals, doctors, historians, sociologists and theologians.

It is financed by the French Catholic Bishops conference but members are not paid. They do not receive instructions from the Church.

In March 2021, CNN reports the commission estimated clergy could have abused 10,000 minors and other vulnerable people since 1950.

In March, the Vatican's Archbishop Charles Scicluna, top investigator of sex abuse, told CNN new Church rules added a layer of accountability for church leaders.

"First of all that leadership is not above the law," Scicluna said, "and second that leadership needs to know, all of us in leadership we need to know, that if the people love the Church they're going to denounce us when we do something wrong."

Sources

• France24
• APNews
• CNN

Zollner, who is the president of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP) at the Gregorian University says it's all-important to control and guide sex abusers and "to define exactly what they may and may not do, whom they may and may not meet and how they use the internet."

Given the critical importance of keeping close tabs on known abusers, the Church should provide places for them to live on a comprehensive basis.

Just what that accommodation would be like and how it would be managed would be determined according to local cultural norms, he suggests.

"This kind of establishment should be particularly applicable in western, highly specialised societies. In other parts of the world, where communal responsibility is more paramount, parish or spiritual communities could possibly find a way of controlling priest abusers and making it impossible for them to abuse again," Zollner told an Austrian religious affairs programme.

Examples of detention houses for sex abuse perpetrators can be seen in the United States, where they have been used for decades. Offenders are given the option of going to such centres, which are described as "something like a prison". They are located in remote regions and residents are subject to a strict regime with curfews and contact restrictions.

"We know from surveys that a high percentage of sexual abusers are likely to have relapses, that is, to abuse again, although they have served a prison sentence, had therapy and fulfilled other conditions. After that, no one controls them any longer - neither society nor the Church," Zollner says.

Once a prisoner is released, "the bishop or the provincial can no longer control or supervise the perpetrator and that is a quandary we have to live with."

Zollner's main concerns are always about the extent perpetrators are prepared to acknowledge their own guilt and are prepared to work at ways of trying to avoid abusing again. "This is something that you cannot enforce. Unfortunately, there are perpetrators who will not accept that they have destroyed children's and adolescents' lives. They see themselves as the victims," he explains.

The Church's situation regarding how to cater for abusers is difficult. On the one hand, the Church has a duty to look after the perpetrators, while on the other it faces accusations of once again thinking more of the perpetrators than the victims, Zollner says.
It's therefore important to remember that providing lifelong detention facilities is about preventing more minors from becoming victims.

German theologian and psychotherapist Wunibald Müller is welcoming Zollner's suggestion. By setting up prison-like centres for paedophile priests, the Church will be able to protect both the public and the abuser priests. In this way, the Church could "show that it is really trying to deal with the problem," Müller says.

Müller recalls visiting the Vianney Renewal Centre in Missouri (pictured) for study purposes a few years ago. "Celebration of the Eucharist takes centre stage and being able to keep up a spiritual routine is all-important for the abuser priests' process of self-healing. It can only be guaranteed in church-run centres," he says.

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: St Louis Post-Dispatch

Bishop Stephen Lowe, secretary of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, says the new code makes it clear that bishops must take decisive action when abuse is reported to them.

"The Church's Canon Law exists alongside the civil and criminal law of the land.

"This revision ...covers the discipline of the Church alongside and beyond the civil law covering, for example, processes for Church discipline in the light of civil prosecution, or for matters that might not meet the criteria for civil prosecution.

"This affirming and widening ... is welcome and timely, especially as it comes during the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care, which the Catholic Church strongly supports."

Bishops

If the bishop does not, or if he fails to report sex crimes to church authorities, he can be removed from office for "culpable negligence".

There is, however, no punishment foreseen in church law if he fails to report the crime to police.

The changes represent the biggest overhaul of the Catholic Church's criminal code for nearly 40 years.

They make sexual abuse, grooming minors for sex, possessing child pornography and covering up abuse a criminal offence under Vatican law.

Priests

A big change involves sexual relations between priests and consenting adults.

The Vatican has long considered such relations sinful but consensual, taking the view that an adults' age will ensure they can accept or refuse consent.

But amid the #MeToo movement and scandals of seminarians and nuns being sexually abused by their superiors, the Vatican has come to realize that adults can be victimised if there is a power imbalance in the relationship.

Therefore, priests who engage in sexual acts with anyone — not just a minor or someone who lacks the use of reason — can be defrocked if they used "force, threats or abuse of his authority" to engage in sexual acts.

The law doesn't explicitly define which adults are covered, saying only "one to whom the law recognises equal protection."

Laity

In what CNS describes as "a novelty" lay people can be sanctioned for sex crimes committed by laypeople who hold church offices, founders of lay religious movements or even parish accountants and administrators.

The new law says laypeople can be similarly punished if they abuse their authority to engage in sexual crimes.

Since these laypeople can't be defrocked, penalties include losing their jobs, paying fines or being removed from their communities.

14 years

The new provisions have taken 14 years of study to prepare. They are in the revised criminal law section of the Vatican's Code of Canon Law.

Francis says said one aim of the changes was to "reduce the number of cases in which the... penalty was left to the discretion of authorities".

Victims and critics have been complaining for decades about the outdated laws, saying they were designed to protect perpetrators and were open to interpretation.

Lowe is welcoming the new code, which comes into effect on 8 December.

"The Catholic Church accepts the responsibility to act when abuse occurs in the Church.

"We will act by listening, learning and supporting those affected by abuse.

"We will act swiftly on complaints and follow them through.

"We will hold those to account who have been proven responsible for abuse. This upgrading of Canon Law affirms that."

Source

• NCR Online
• HuffPost
• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
• BBC
• Image: Catholic Diocese of Wellington

The list includes the Reverend Roy Herberger of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York. Last year, he filed a defamation case against a 42-year-old man who said the priest had assaulted him as a boy.

After a lengthy investigation, Herberger was deemed innocent of any crimes, and while the outcome showed that justice prevailed, Herberger says "the experience was devastating."

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The New Zealand bishops' conference (NZBC) says these concerns involved a number of victims of abuse in the Dunedin Diocese who had complained that Kavanagh had not properly dealt with their complaints of sexual abuse by priests.

The bishops' concerns about Kavanagh were referred to the Vatican late last year, in line with Pope Francis' 2019 decree, "Vos estis lux mundi."

New Zealand's Metropolitan Archbishop, Cardinal John Dew has now asked the National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) to look into Kavanagh's response to these complaints while he was bishop from 1957 until he died in 1985.

NOPS is the Church's complaints body. It, in turn, appointed Christchurch senior investigator Micky Earl to conduct the investigation.

Dew says Earl will focus on finding out what information Kavanagh had regarding complaints of sexual abuse. He will also look into whether Kavanagh met his obligations as bishop in how he responded to and managed those complaints.

One of the priests Kavanagh was allegedly told about was Magnus Murray, who offended against boys in Dunedin from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Newspaper reports say Murray's offences were brought to Kavanagh's attention in 1972.

Kavanagh's response was to move Murray to Australia. He later allowed him to resume public ministry in the North Island. New victims have since emerged from that period.

Abuse survivors, their supporters and a group of former pupils have called for the name of Dunedin's Kavanagh College - named after the late bishop - to be changed.

Kavanagh College Board of Trustees chairwoman Barb Long has declined to comment about any decisions about renaming the school at this stage. This is because the investigation is independent and the school was not part of it, she says.

Dew is also waiting for the outcome of the investigation and its recommendations. He says these could help form the basis of any decision to rename the college.

Anyone who has any concerns regarding inappropriate behaviour in a Church setting should contact NOPS to report their concerns, Dew says.

"NOPS operates independently of diocesan and Congregation structures. It contracts professional, experienced and independent third-party investigators to conduct investigations on its behalf.

"We are committed to a safe environment for all within the Church community. Any form of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour in the Church community is not acceptable."

NOPS can be contacted by free phone on 0800 114 622, or by email at prof.standards@nzcbc.org.nz Go here for the NOPS website, which includes the latest edition of A Path to Healing.

In addition to contacting NOPS, the Church also encourages victims of abuse to contact the police or the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care.

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• Otago Daily Times
• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: NZ Catholic

It is also going to be carrying out a separate inquiry into Marylands a residential school for boys, many with learning disabilities.

But other investigations into faith-based institutions are also going to be set up, as the inquiry progresses a spokesperson for the commission says.

The commission is now looking into Gloriavale, a closed religious community located on the West Coast with the possibility of an investigation into the community.

It comes amid revelations Gloriavale leaders forced a 13-year-old girl to sit in a room with a man who allegedly groomed her because their versions of events did not match up.

The family left Gloriavale about ten months ago as they felt the community was making the 13-year-old's life "miserable."

They had lived there for 40 years.

A police spokesperson said police were notified in June 2018 about an alleged indecent incident involving a young person six weeks earlier.

Police immediately launched an investigation, which included speaking to the young person, their parents, potential witnesses and the alleged offender.

"A resolution was reached that took into account the views of the victim and their family at the time, and addressed the safety of the young person concerned," the spokesperson said.

At an Unmasking Gloriavale fundraiser held in Timaru, last Thursday former members of the community spoke out about their experiences in the hope of prompting change for those still living there.

The fundraising event was organised by the Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust to raise funds to help other families leave the community.

The grandson of Hopeful Christian, the founder of the Gloriavale community, was shocked to discover his grandfather had been convicted of sex offending and jailed.

He had been told Hopeful Christian had been persecuted for his faith.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: metronews.co.nz