Complainant about sex abuse dissatisfied -CathNewsNZ AsiaPacific

Sex abuse complainant remains dissatisfied

Thursday, October 4th, 2018

Communication confusion between a sex abuse complainant and the Catholic Church has the victim further distrusting the Catholic Church.

“The process has upset me and re-traumatised me on certain levels too. The people who are involved in it tend to not be implementing their own protocols,” the man told Radio NZ (RNZ).

RNZ on Tuesday reported the church saying it sent the investigator’s report to the complainant in July 2018.

However, the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, rejects this happening and told RNZ he is dissatisfied with the response he received.

RNZ has been shown documentation and emails about the man’s case.

The documents show that the man laid a complaint with the church in June 2017; he also talked to the police.

The priest who was involved is now dead, so the police cannot prosecute.

RNZ says the emails show that the National Office of Professional Standards which handles clerical sex abuse and the Society of Mary which covers this particular case, have put the man off.

“They’re hoping that perhaps, if the process is drawn out, I’ll eventually simply kind of go away. Or it just defaults and nothing’s done about it,” the complainant said.

In response, RNZ reports the Society of Mary’s sexual abuse protocol delegate Judy McCormack told the man in an earlier email: “I can assure you that we are not in the practice of ‘dragging out the process’ in the hope that people who have come forward will ‘give up’.”

“We, the members of the committee, work on the committee in and around our own employment. We follow a process that has an order of action.”

Following the established process in “A Path to Healing,” the Church says it is usual to sort out counselling first before issuing an apology or giving any money.