In time, no-one will know Marylands Catholic residential school for boys (which St John of God brothers ran from 1955 to 1984) ever existed.

Marylands survivors have seen to that.

Victory and validation

Obliterating Marylands and establishing Validation is a meaningful victory to the men who survived.

Those who spoke at the ceremony said when they visit Validation Park they'll remember those who didn't make it.

One survivor said this:

"To our survivor community ... I see you, I hear you.

"For too long we've sought acknowledgement and validation for the trauma we suffered. Today we take back control and reclaim this space here, for the strength and resilience of survivors."

For the victims who didn't survive, he said he will remember them and "I will validate them".

Among the survivors at the ceremony was a man abused at another St John of God residential facility in Christchurch - the Hebron Trust.

The Trust operated in Christchurch between 1986 and 1993 as a residential facility for youth in need of safety, shelter and support.

Erasing Marylands from the park and road was a huge relief to him too.

"It's a weight off the shoulders. It's a small step in a long journey and for all of us survivors, as we work towards these little steps, it's extremely important.

"It's never easy talking about something that's so hard, something that's so traumatic" he told the crowd.

He said he was sharing his story because not everyone could, and he wanted to make sure the abuse they suffered was remembered.

Validation and support

Representatives from the Christchurch City Council including mayor Phil Mauger were at the ceremony. The Council has been supportive of the street and park renaming.

Judge Coral Shaw, who chaired the Royal Commission into abuse in care, was there as well.

Shaw said it was important for her to attend the ceremony to pay tribute to the survivors.

"I wouldn't have missed this occasion for anything today because of them" she said.

Shaw and Male Survivors Aotearoa national advocate Ken Clearwater unveiled the Validation Park sign to officially mark the occasion.

History can repeat

One survivor is concerned about the coalition government's plans to reintroduce charter schools.

Marylands was a type of charter school he said. People were hired without government oversight and without the need for qualifications.

"In some ways I see the Government stepping back ... almost having history repeat itself."

Source

• RNZ
• The Press

Nobody wants to remember Marylands Place and Marylands Reserve.

Both are associated with abuse of children and young people.

One in five of the boys who attended the residential school run by the St John of God brothers reported being abused there.

That sorry statistic is detailed in an interim report released in 2023 for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

The report described the institution as "hell on earth".

The new name

Next week, a Christchurch City Council community board is to consider a name for the street and park.

Board chairman Callum Ward said the Royal Commission recommended changing the street and park names. That recommendation echoes calls from survivors from the disgraced Catholic school.

"There are two main options on the table [as the new name for the street], one is Validation, the other is Monarch.

"Both of those name suggestions were provided by the survivors themselves" Ward said.

"Survivors spoke of not being believed, or even listened to, for a long time and they put forward the name Validation. It's an acknowledgement of their experiences and symbolic of them taking back power over what happened."

The survivors find the name Monarch, for the monarch butterfly, symbolic.

"We've worked closely with survivors... to find a name that recognises their experiences, acknowledges the traumatic association of the name, and contributes to puretumu torowhanui, or historic redress" Ward said.

If after the current public consultation phase the names are approved, the new street and park name change will be made from 4 June.

Sexual harm

Where to get help:

If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:

• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz

Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.

If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Source

• NZ Herald

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

Needing help?

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Darryl Smith (pictured) was one of dozens of boys who suffered "extreme abuse and neglect" at Marylands School. Complaints show the school's abusive reign ran from 1955 to the late 1980s.

Now 59, Smith is raising money to go to an international summit for sexual assault survivors in Rome next month.

He's scrimped and saved, and has a Givealittle account to help cover his costs. He also approached the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch for help.

"Unfortunately, the diocese is declining the opportunity to raise money for your trip," the diocese replied.

Smith says the diocese's response is two-faced.

Request and response

Smith says the diocese promised to ensure the abuse wouldn't happen again.

It also said it would help survivors.

"They lied," Smith says.

He made the comment after approaching the diocese recently for help to attend an upcoming summit as an ambassador for all New Zealand abuse survivors.

However, 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.

The bishops wish him well, the statement concluded.

In 2019, Smith flew to Rome after receiving personal financial assistance from Dunedin bishop Michael Dooley, who also gave him a letter of introduction to meet Pope Francis.

While in Rome, Smith was interviewed by the ABC but failed to meet the Pope.

Disappointment

Smith is disappointed his request to the Christchurch diocese was refused.

He said he hoped to be an ambassador for all New Zealand survivors of abuse and meet others at the conference to discuss progress being made about sexual abuse in different countries, share ideas and consider ways to work toward continued change in the Catholic Church.

He had planned to take the Marylands School report with him to share with other survivors.

He said at the last summit, he found it healing to meet survivors from around the world and exchange stories.

He explained that he felt he got some of his power back by being there.

Despite the Royal Commission of Inquiry process being "scary", Smith says he feels very positive about what the Abuse in Care report found.

The Royal Commission identified multiple failures, including those made by the Police, the State and Marylands, and the Christchurch diocese.

Source

• The Press

Darryl Smith suffered at the hands of the John of God Brothers in Australia and New Zealand.

He has already undergone a redress settlement process in Australia and received compensation from the Queensland government and the John of God brothers.

Smith told the Otago Daily Times (ODT) that he believes Queensland has more support for survivors than New Zealand. He has presented his recommendations for a redress scheme to the Royal Commission, outlining what the New Zealand government's response to the inquiry must include.

His recommendations call for mandatory participation by all faith-based institutions in the redress, independent management of the process, and a review of historical claims with adjustments to financial compensation where necessary.

The report noted that Smith views redress as encompassing more than just financial compensation, expressing his hope that New Zealand would follow Australia's lead.

"Queensland has more support for survivors than in New Zealand."

"The Royal Commission Act also shows survivors in Australia that the changes are there for the long haul. New Zealand also needs to commit to redress in legislation," Smith said.

In New Zealand, the ACC Sensitive Claims Unit provides support for survivors of sexual abuse and assault.

It says that in response to the growing number of survivors accessing its services, it has increased the number of providers it works with and is also changing how it works to ensure it can better meet people's needs.

The ACC reports that, in the last five years, the number of claims it has received from survivors of sexual abuse and assault has doubled.

"Greater public awareness of sexual violence and easier access to support services has contributed to this increase.

"Other influences include media coverage on sexual violence and the #MeToo movement. These and other societal trends and conversations are changing attitudes towards sexual violence" reports the ACC.

The Royal Commission's findings have shed light on the extreme nature of the abuse at Marylands School.

"We are aware of no other circumstances or institution where the sexual abuse has been so extreme or has involved such a high proportion of perpetrators over the same extended period of time as that at Marylands School," says Judge Coral Shaw, the Chair of the Royal Commission.

The report further concluded that social workers, police, the state, the brothers and the Catholic Church had failed the children, highlighting a systemic failure that resonates beyond the school itself.

On Friday CathNews reported a very strong statement by Archbishop Paul Martin, General Secretary of the New Zealand Bishops Conference

"The abuse described should never have happened.

"Nor should any abuse happen.

"I want to restate categorically that the bishops of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand have zero tolerance for abuse.

"No form of abuse, misconduct or inappropriate behaviour is acceptable in the Church community.

"The Church must continue to confront the difficult truths of the past, including the inexcusable abuse and suffering described in the case study report," wrote Martin.

Needing help?

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sources

• SMH
• ACC Sensitive Claims Newsroom
• ODT
• CathNews NZ
• CathNews NZ
• CathNews NZ

Smith is a former student at Marylands School and a survivor. The Royal Commission acknowledges his quest for justice.

He is 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 in public.

He is pleased survivors are now being believed.

"It's good that it's actually public knowledge and it's good that it's being read by people, and also that people now believe us that it actually happened to us," Smith told Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB.

Smith, is a prolific author who has documented his journey and concurs with the report that Marylands was "Hell on Earth".

Pressed by du Plessis-Allan on why it was Hell on Earth, Smith replied simply and clearly "Well, if you get sexually raped, I think you'd think it'd be hell."

As a young boy, just two days after he arrived at Marylands School, Smith was forced to perform sexual acts on two St John of God brothers entrusted to care for him.

Pulling out a Bible, they told Smith "This is what God means by love".

He was later raped on a marble altar.

The Australian province of the St John of God religious order sent five brothers to New Zealand to staff the Marylands School.

Most were untrained as teachers without specialist skills to educate disabled children and, within a very short time, all five had been accused of abusing the children.

As the Royal Commission reports, abuse at Marylands School was pervading.

"Of the 537 boys who attended Marylands School, more than one in five (118) reported abuse while in the school's care.

"Survivors told the Inquiry that the brothers routinely raped, masturbated and indecently assaulted the young boys in their care. They forced boys to masturbate and perform oral sex on them.

"Abuse was so normalised, some boys abused one another.

"There were times when two or more brothers sexually abused a child at the same time or made the boys perform sexual acts on each other in front of the brothers. Sometimes this happened behind closed doors. At times, it was inflicted in plain sight of others as a punishment or threat. Children were threatened and physically beaten into complying with the wishes of the brothers and lived in constant fear."

Smith says he is looking for compensation but also wants every St John of God Brother chastised and imprisoned for life in New Zealand.

Smith was also abused by the John of God brothers in Queensland.

Marylands School received referrals for children from state agencies, health professionals and parents.

The school was originally established to assist boys with learning difficulties.

But not all of those referred to the school had learning difficulties. Some of them were sent there due to being excluded from their previous local school.

The report says the state and the church failed to protect the boys because of a lack of oversight of the brothers running the school. It provides distressing accounts of abuse experienced by numerous young boys under the care of the brothers.

The report highlights their desperate need for support and recognition, and the inaction of the state, the Catholic Church and the Hospitaller Brothers of St John of God (Order of St John of God).

Coral Shaw, the Chair of the Royal Commission, said "We are aware of no other circumstances or institution where the sexual abuse has been so extreme or has involved such a high proportion of perpetrators over the same extended period of time as that at Marylands School."

Shaw said that children were not believed by social workers, police, the brothers or the Catholic Church when they reported abuse and neglect.

The report contains no recommendations, as these will be included in the Royal Commission's final report due in March 2024.

Survivors described their experience as "hell on earth".

Needing help?

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sources

• NewstalkZB
• Sydney Morning Herald
• ODT
• NZ Herald
• Department of Internal Affairs
• Abuse in Care - Royal Commission - Executive summary
• Abuse in Care - Royal Commission - Interim Reports
• CathNews

Martin is responding in a media release to the Royal Commission's interim report Stolen Lives, Marked Souls.

The report into the St John of God brothers' Marylands School in Christchurch was released on Wednesday. Martin suggests it is the failure of individuals first to ensure students' safety and then again to manage the redress adequately.

Martin, a former bishop of Christchurch, is now the Archbishop of Wellington and General Secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

"Confronting these realities is a significant and necessary step as we all continue to transform the way we manage redress and ensure the safety of everyone in a Church environment.

"The abuse described should never have happened. Nor should any abuse happen. I want to restate categorically that the bishops of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand have zero tolerance for abuse. No form of abuse, misconduct or inappropriate behaviour is acceptable in the Church community.

"The Church must continue to confront the difficult truths of the past, including the inexcusable abuse and suffering described in the case study report," writes Martin.

According to the media release, the Catholic Church began implementing formal abuse response procedures in the 1990s.

It acknowledged that over the last 30 years they have been subject to improvement.

"Everyone working in the Church is required to adhere to them.

"We must continue to monitor and improve the practices put in place throughout the Church to prevent harm, as well as supporting survivors of abuse. We know there is more we need to do and we are committed to doing it."

In a letter to the Archdiocese of Wellington, Martin encourages all who lead or have particular roles within the Church or Church-based organisations to do everything possible to be up-to-date on safeguarding policies and practices the archdiocese now follows.

"We do not tolerate any abuse," he writes.

Needing help?

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sources

• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
• Archdiocese of Wellington (Supplied. Not yet available online)
• CathNews NZ

More than 30 witnesses gave evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care - many survivors, some experts and some senior members of the Catholic Church.

In her closing statement, lawyer Sally McKechnie, who represented New Zealand's Catholic bishops and leaders at the hearing, repeated their apologies for what happened at the school.

"This harm should never have happened and it is a great shame and deep regret to the Church that it has".

She went on to acknowledge the courage of survivors who had shared their experiences with the inquiry.

"The brothers and the Church have heard their pain, and they have heard the anger, and frustrations.

"That Marylands was a place of sexual, physical and psychological abuse was horrific and the Church apologises to you, survivors, to your families, whanau and to the hundreds of co-workers who worked in these institutions".

The Church does not want to question the evidence of survivors, McKechnie stressed.

Rather, it wants to "learn how the church can ensure that proper redress and healing takes place for survivors of abuse".

Doing so, however, won't be without challenges, she said.

The fact some survivors want a close and supportive relationship with the church while others do not want any at all makes it 'very challenging' to implement a fair and effective model of redress, she said.

McKechnie said a further challenge was to determine how to provide effective financial redress, as some survivors said they had little if any of the money they received as redress payment left.

Payments had to be delivered in a way that gave survivors the freedom to choose how they wanted to spend the money, while balancing that with the need to provide them long-term support, she explained.

While the Church has since implemented additional processes around abuse and safeguarding, 'there is clearly still work to do' she said.

Earliler, Catholic Archbishop Paul Martin offered a heartfelt apology to the Commission earlier last week in his role as the current Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Christchurch.

"I want to apologise and I want to convey the deep sadness that I feel and I know our Catholic people do as well, because this was an institution that was supported by the community - and to know what we thought we were supporting was not actually doing what it should have been doing," he said.

"It is a cause of deep shame and sorrow".

Martin said the Church wanted to be better.

"We don't have these institutions anymore. We do take it very seriously and do want to try to be better now and into the future".

Martin, the current Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Christchurch, accepts that survivors want the church to take responsibility for historical abuse cases and not just leave it to the particular order involved.

Source

• Stuff
• NZHerald
• Image: NZHerald

He made the comment at the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care inquiry investigating historical abuse by the St John of God Order at Marylands School in Christchurch between 1955 and 1984.

Martin said what was supposed to be a good place for people became a burden for the Church - but nothing like the burden for the victims.

"I want to apologise and I want to convey the deep sadness that I feel and I know our Catholic people do as well, because this was an institution that was supported by the community ... and was not actually doing what it should be doing. It is a cause of deep shame and sorrow".

"We don't have these institutions anymore. We do take it very seriously and do want to try to be better now and into the future" he said.

When a religious order like St John of God works in a diocese it is done with a bishop's permission. However, lines of control can become blurred.

Martin said it was at the bishop's instigation that the St John of God brothers were brought to Christchurch to care for young people. He believed he was setting up something that would meet the boys' needs.

He explained bishops cannot be closely involved in everything in their diocese. Religious orders take up some of this burden and this was understood by all parties to be the arrangement with St John.

"It was the handing over in good faith and good belief that they would do what they said they would do. As it turns out that wasn't the case."

Commission chair Coral Shaw asked Martin if it was ever right to cover up the abuse and ignore it. He replied no.

Shaw also asked him if it was always the responsibility of the bishop and every other religious person who knew about abuse to do something. He answered yes.

Brothers at Marylands who offended against children should have been removed immediately, he agreed.

"I think that was the culture of the time and it was wrong and we have the results and the fruits of that and what a terrible legacy for us to carry as a church, as a society".

He confirmed to Shaw that the Catholic Church is prepared to take responsibility for the healing and redress for survivors.

"...This is why we asked to be part of this (the Royal Commission process) and we knew that in doing that we were coming with all our history and our past, so as a bishop and one for the future, I am saying yes."

Source

• RNZ
• RNZ
• CathNews

The Commission is encouraging survivors to come forward, as is St John of God survivor, Darryl Smith.

Smith says his traumatic story with St John of God began at age 7.

"It started when Brother Keane, a school teacher at Marylands, kept me back in class.

"Older boys and some staff came along too", said Smith.

He told CathNews that the abuse was not carried out by just one brother.

Br Roger (Moloney), at the time, head of the Order in New Zealand, called him to his office, seemingly to take a call from his grandmother.

Smith said there was no phone call from his grandmother, there was no phone call at all but he was very seriously abused.

Smith says he does not understand how the Order moved these men around knowing for years what they were doing. He says he does not accept the Order's claims it was the done thing at the time.

"What a load of rubbish", he said. "The done thing, the Christian thing is to protect a child", he told CathNews.

Later in the 1970's Smith moved to Australia where he was again in the care of the St John of God brothers, and again he was very seriously abused.

"How's that, abused by the same brothers both sides of the Tasman", said Smith wryly.

Smith told CathNews that the serious abuse conducted by the St John of brothers began during the formative time in his life, so much so, that for many years he did not know what was right or wrong.

"Between 1984 to 2009 I spent a lifetime in and out of Prison because of the evil I suffered", he said.

However, in 2010 his life started to change and he began the long road of healing.

"I started doing artwork to heal myself and learnt from that.

"At a comparatively late stage of life, I began to understand the difference between right and wrong".

In 2012 he held his first art exhibition entitled "My New Journey".

Darryl Smith, Artist

Now the author of several books, Smith's first book is the story of his shattered life at the hands of the St John of God brothers.

Smith is the New Zealand Ambassador for the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, a role he takes seriously.

While he is writing a report on the Hospitaller Order of St John of God in New Zealand to be presented to the Royal Commission and is appearing in front of the Royal Commission at the February hearing, he also asks that other survivors consider joining him.

Smith's encouragement is echoed by General manager of investigations for the Royal Commission, Tom Powell.

"We want to hear from as many survivors as possible, so we have a comprehensive picture as to what happened at these organisations."

Ken Clearwater, a founding trustee of Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse told Stuff that said survivors carry shame, disgust and guilt, and are often labelled liars, so he takes his hat off to anyone brave enough to share their story.

Powell told Suff that the commission had wellbeing wraparound support for anyone who wanted to share their experiences, but he recognised how difficult it was.

Catherine Fyfe, chair of Te Ropu Tautoko - the group coordinating Catholic engagement with the Royal Commission - says: Tautoko has "been working with the Royal Commission to ensure that our response has been as timely and comprehensive as possible, to honour those harmed at Marylands."

Source

• Stuff
• Scoop
• Stuff
• Stuff​