Catholic abuse survivors who continue to remain unsatisfied want New Zealand Catholic Church leaders to do more than just make statements.
“We have made changes, and we remain committed to continuing this work to ensure accountability and healing” Bishop Stephen Lowe, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, and Rev. Tom Rouse, president of the Congregational Leaders Conference, said on Friday.
“While the [Royal Commission into Abuse in Care] report chronicles a disgraceful aspect of our nation’s past, it also provides us with a roadmap – continuing the work begun before the Royal Commission and extending into our future” their statement said.
Little has changed
Survivors aren’t impressed and they want Catholic congregations to help make the Church accountable by pressuring Catholic clergy to admit wrongdoing and take responsibility.
They note that despite the Church’s general apologies, individuals abused by clergy have not yet received any personal apologies.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says Lowe and Rouse disregard their own safeguarding principles and procedures.
SNAP accuses church leaders of deliberately misleading the New Zealand people.
It says survivors continue to report being re-victimised by Church leaders behind closed doors.
“One recently received a letter from a lawyer instructed by Lowe and Rouse’s Professional Standards and National Safeguarding Offices threatening to “discontinue the inquiry into your complaints” if the complainant did not remain silent.
“The letter came after the complainant raised concerns about Lowe and Rouse’s officials trying to shut down his complaint cases without completing the required investigative work.”
Catholic congregations need to help
Steve Goodlass is a member of another survivor group, Male Survivors, and a survivor of clergy abuse at St Bernard’s College.
Goodlass denounced the Catholic Church’s response to a recent inquiry, calling it “heartbreaking and appalling”.
He accused the Church of avoiding accountability.
The Church released a statement on Friday, which Goodlass criticised for being “full of rhetoric and deflection” and dismissing the ongoing impact on survivors.
“The apology meant nothing” he said, noting repeated references to abuse as being in the past.
“If you have a tail for this sort of stuff that’s 40 years long, who would say that’s in the past?” Goodlass said.
ACC system not good enough
The State, through ACC, provides compensation regardless of who is at fault, whether it’s a workplace injury, road accident, or injury that occurred at home or during leisure activities.
However, Goodlass urged the Church to break with the country’s law and protocol, and establish its own comprehensive redress scheme to provide better support for survivors.
Current redress payments were “pitiful” he said.
Goodlass accused the Church of not stepping up to fund counselling and support groups.
The church had “just sat there” and waited for the state’s response, he said.
“It’s really hard knowing that I am paying for my own therapy through my taxes, while the Church does nothing” he said.
Church funds counselling
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church says counselling was offered as standard practice when allegations of abuse were presented to the church’s professional standards office.