The Otago branch senior manager of MSSAT Aotearoa, Dugal Armour, said the agreement meant survivors of faith-based abuse would be referred by the church to a new MSSAT Aotearoa group launched in Dunedin to cater for them.

The group could then work with survivors to help them access whatever services they needed, such as counselling, either one-on-one or as part of the group, he said.

About 40 survivors in Dunedin are presently being assisted by MSSAT Aotearoa.

They are from a variety of settings including state care.

The new Dunedin faith-based support group had only recently been launched but already had nine members, Armour said.

MSSAT Aotearoa chairman Philip Chapman said the agreement was initiated by his group and was believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

It was hoped the agreement could become a template for other dioceses across the country.

The agreement would "keep survivors together and ensure they are getting the support they need", he said.

He praised Dooley for taking the steps necessary to address the impact on survivors of faith-based sexual abuse.

Dooley said the "goodwill" between him and the MSSAT Aotearoa group was "really important" and would help deliver better outcomes for survivors.

He hoped other dioceses would follow in Dunedin's footsteps, regardless of how they did so.

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust (MSSAT) was registered as a charitable trust in 1997.

A hui in 2015 agreed to establish the national organisation - Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Poari o Nga Morehu Taitokai o Aotearoa [MSSAT Aotearoa].

The national organisation includes support groups in Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Source

• odt.co.nz
• malesurvivor.nz
• Image: twitter.com

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the US to "take all necessary measures to investigate all cases of sexual abuse of children whether single or on a massive and long-term scale, committed by clerics".

Religion News Service said the US Department of Justice did not return requests for comment, and the National Association of Attorneys General declined to comment. Abuse cases are typically handled by local and state prosecutors, not the federal government.

But David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said efforts to deal with child-molesting clergy were "woefully inadequate".

"There has been and continues to be too cozy a relationship between religious and governmental figures," he said. "Other than a handful of local prosecutors, there's been almost no action at the state or federal level."

"If even a handful of bishops went to jail for enabling child sex crimes, we believe that would introduce massive reform," Clohessy said.

However, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the hierarchy does a "huge amount" in order to prevent sex abuse within the Church — much of it learned after the abuse scandal came to light.

"Every diocese is audited every year to see that every year that parishes have safe environment programmes," she said, "which include educating children so that they are aware of inappropriate contact by an adult, and are encouraged to report anything that makes them uncomfortable to a trusted adult."

Source:

Religion News Service

Image: Oats and Sugar