Smith, a long-time voice for sexual abuse survivors, was sexually abused as a child while at John of God Brothers residential schools in both New Zealand and Australia.

Pleased that finally the children's cries for help that were ignored by the Church, the Police, the State and the people running Marylands are now public, Smith took the report to Rome.

The John of God Brothers are no longer active in New Zealand, but their headquarters remain in Rome. On Friday, Smith visited Fatebenefratelli - Curia Generalizia, 138 Via della Nocetta 263, with the hope of delivering the report directly.

Introducing himself over the Fatebenefratelli intercom, no one came to greet Smith and receive the report.

Hoping the brothers would read the report, he deposited it in the John of God Brothers letterbox.

"This is the head office and they do absolutely nothing but hide behind a bloody wall, I'm furious," he told Newshub.

Apologies aren't enough, Smith told Newshub.

"We're not going away, you can blank at us by not talking to us, you can shut the door and never let us in but it makes us stronger," he said.

And louder than ever.

Describing his years of schooling in New Zealand and Australia as "hell on earth", he says the Royal Commission's report means a lot to him.

"It means a lot, it means they can't bury it ever again. It's a government document, it can't be buried. It means a hell of a lot to me personally," he told Newshub.

This is the Dunedin resident's second trip to Rome.

Armed with a letter of introduction from Dunedin bishop, Michael Dooley, Smith hoped to meet personally with Pope Francis.

Smith was interviewed by the ABC but failed to meet the Pope.

Smith's first trip was in part funded personally by Dooley.

For his second trip, he approached the Christchurch diocese for help with his travel costs, however, while wishing him well the Bishop of Christchurch declined.

In a statement, the Christchurch diocese said Smith had previously been given support, redress payments and further support to attend a similar 2019 Rome summit.

Though Smith has received a compensation payment from the John of God Brothers, he told the ODT he was in Rome to demand accountability from Brs Joseph Smith and Brian O'Donnell, two church provincials who were at the head of the Order at the time of his abuse in the 1970s and '80s.

The Catholic Church had no honour and was "worse than any criminal" in the country, he said.

"I'm nearly 60 and I won't stop until I get what I want.

"I want justice, not only for myself — we're talking about real justice.

"It's pretty big for me to actually do all this stuff, but I have to do it.

"I have to make sure they're held accountable," Mr Smith said.

Smith is in Rome also to attend an international survivor meeting at which he will be an ambassador for all New Zealand abuse survivors.

The survivor meeting coincides with the first stage of Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality.

Sources

• Newshub
• ODT
• CathNews NZ

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Marylands was a residential school for children with learning difficulties, run between the mid-1950s and 1984 by the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, a Catholic religious congregation of brothers, initially in Middleton before it moved to Halswell.

The Royal Commission last week published the details of its Marylands case study.

Marylands is one of a number of individual inquiries the Royal Commission will hold into state and faith-based institutions as part of its overall investigation into historical child abuse in care institutions.

It has yet to name a date for the Marylands hearing.

It will investigate "the nature and extent of abuse that occurred at Marylands, why it happened, and the impacts of abuse that may have occurred at the hands of priests, religious or lay employees of the Church.

It will investigate whether there are any systemic, structural or other factors which contributed to the abuse occurring and the adequacy of the response by the Catholic Church to allegations of abuse."

Catherine Fyfe, chair of Te Ropu Tautoko - the group coordinating Catholic engagement with the Royal Commission - welcomed the announcement and said the Church and Tautoko would work supportively and diligently to do everything possible to co-operate.

"We will work with the Royal Commission and the leadership of the brothers of St John of God to ensure that our response is as timely and comprehensive as possible, to honour those harmed at Marylands," Ms Fyfe said.

"We see this inquiry and the wider work of the Royal Commission as a way for the Catholic bishops and religious congregations to positively engage in this important process of listening, acknowledging, learning, and reaffirming our commitment to safeguarding the vulnerable in society."

Brother Timothy Graham OH, the Sydney-based Provincial of the St John of God order, said the Marylands inquiry was an acknowledgement of those who were harmed in the care of the brothers.

"The inquiry is another chance for the survivors' voices to be heard, and for the brothers - indeed all of us — to listen and learn."

The New Zealand Catholic bishops and Catholic congregational leaders sought to have the Church included in the work of the Royal Commission, which when first established was limited to abuse of children in state care.

The Catholic Bishops Conference and the Congregational Leaders' Conference Aotearoa New Zealand set up Te Ropu Tautoko to ensure the Church provides a co-ordinated and co-operative response to the Royal Commission from all the many dioceses, congregations and institutions of the Church.

Source

• catholic.org.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Woken from his sleep, the 6-year-old was called to an Order of St John of God brother's office late in the evening and told one of the men responsible for his care wanted to speak about his grandmother. Instead, the man raped him.

The abuse continued over the course of a year and came from other members of the order and older students, Smith said. He eventually told his parents what happened. Continue reading

McGrath voluntarily left Sri Lanka last week and arrived at Christchurch International Airport on Friday. Police deny he had fled to Sri Lanka, saying he was only there for a holiday.

He was allowed through immigration before being arrested in the city a few hours later.

After spending the weekend in police cells, McGrath appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Monday. Judge Farish granted him conditional bail and remanded him until December 17 to allow him time to study the new charges.

Australian police want McGrath extradited to face the new charges of abusing, molesting and raping boys and young adults at church-run institutions in New South Wales over several decades.

At his next hearing McGrath will either accept extradition or oppose the application.

In 2006, McGrath was jailed for five years for sexually abusing boys at Marylands School in Christchurch in the 1970s, and was paroled in 2008.

Source

• Huffington Post
• Radio Australia International
• The New Zealand Herald
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

New South Wales police were to extradite McGrath to Australia from Christchurch where he was living. However Fairfax Media reported he was able to leave New Zealand after the charges were lodged, and is believed to staying on a tea plantation in the highlands of Sri Lanka.

New Zealand police told Fairfax the formal extradition request only came through from Interpol on November 15.

It is reported the delay in extraditing McGrath was due to the many levels of bureaucracy involved in the extradition process.

Australia does not have an extradition treaty with Sri Lanka directly. However it can extradite suspects from Sri Lanka under the London Scheme which enables Commonwealth countries to extradite criminals to each other.

Fairfax Media understands that Australian Federal Police based in Sri Lanka have been made aware of McGrath's presence.

Source

• Sydney Morning Herald
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: ABC News