“Abhorrent and should never have happened” is how Archbishop Paul Martin describes the sexual abuse at Marylands School.
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.
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Sources
- NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
- Archdiocese of Wellington (Supplied. Not yet available online)
- CathNews NZ