The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the Catholic Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa NZ have welcomed the final report of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care.
The “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light” report was made public on Wednesday afternoon after being tabled in Parliament.
The bishops and congregational leaders say they need to read its 16 volumes thoroughly and consider the contents before they can make any further comment.
They say they will ensure action follows their review of the Inquiry’s findings and they are committed to improve safeguarding in all aspects of Church life.
In a letter read at all parish masses last weekend, they stated “We acknowledge that the abuse of people in the care of the Church is real and the failures of Church leaders in responding to reports are real.
“The impacts of these are present today – for survivors, their whānau, for faith communities and for society.
“At the same time, everyone must play their part in responding to the Inquiry’s report to the extent that they can.
“There are things that all of us can and must do to eliminate abuse of any kind in whatever context we live and work in.”
Our national disgrace
A quick summary of the report says:
- “Unimaginable” and widespread abuse in care between 1950 and 2019 amounts to a “national disgrace”
- An estimated 200,000 of 655,000 in care were abused and many more neglected, with Māori disproportionately affected and subjected to overt and targeted racism
- Violence and sexual abuse were common and, in some cases, children and young people were “trafficked” to members of the public for sex
- State and church agencies’ responses to abuse reports were woefully inadequate
The Royal Commission is calling for:
- Apologies from the Government, the Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury as global heads of the churches responsible, along with other religious bodies and organisations
- An inquiry into evidence of unmarked graves at former psychiatric hospitals
- A specialist police unit dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the abuse
Read the summary
In an opinion piece in the Waikato Times, Professor David Tombs (director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at Otago University) is urging churches to make better responses to spiritual and sexual abuse.
“For the nation – and especially for the state and New Zealand’s churches – this report will be hard reading. The picture it presents is deeply disturbing” writes Tombs.
“But facing up to failure cannot be avoided. It clears the way to change.
“Churches can play their part by encouraging their members to consider reading the summary. This will signal the importance of immediately acknowledging the report as an issue for everyone in the churches.
“Churches can then plan to read and respond to the report much more fully before November 12.
“However we choose to respond, there needs to be an urgent desire to learn from the work that has been done and implement the changes that are needed for a better future in our state systems and churches.”
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