A survivor of physical abuse in Catholic institutions is asking the often-criticised Catholic National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS) to investigate. The survivor, Brendon Bowkett, having witnessed horrific violence and abuse as a child, is calling for urgent reforms in the way the Catholic Church investigates complaints. In 2022 Bowkett left New Zealand and is Read more
Palmerston North bishop John Adams is doubling down on a culture change in the Catholic Church and its efforts to make the Church safe. Adams had commented earlier in response to a letter to the editor published in the Manawatu Standard by Dr Christopher Longhurst, leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests Read more
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests – SNAP NZ – has written to Pope Francis urging him to instruct the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference to initiate an urgent, independent and transparent review of the National Office of Professional Standards and its principles and procedures document, A Path to Healing. SNAP’s unhappy letter to Read more
The Catholic Church’s group dealing with the Royal Commission into State and Faith-Based Care say it is studying a Cabinet paper released by Public Services Minister Chris Hipkins. Hipkins has plans to cut a 3000-strong waiting list of claimants of abuse in state care – such as children’s homes – by making “rapid payments”. Survivors Read more
The National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) has welcomed Pamela Arthurs as the new National Safeguarding Lead. She will provide support to dioceses, congregations and Catholic organisations in the continued implementation of safeguarding practices around New Zealand. NOPS is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Catholic Church’s policy and procedures for safeguarding children and vulnerable Read more
The website for the New Zealand Catholic Church’s National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS) has just gone live. The website provides a platform for information on reporting abuse, safeguarding information and any related policies or documents. NOPS Director, Virginia Noonan, says “the website provides another channel for reporting abuse and providing information on safeguarding in the Read more
The Catholic Church’s National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) has called in private investigators to examine historic sexual abuse at a former Dunedin high school. NOPS director Virginia Noonan would only say when contacted her office took all complaints seriously, and church protocols now required an independent party to investigate such complaints. Continue reading
The National Professional Standards Committee (NPSC) has appointed former Christchurch lawyer and mother of two, Virginia Noonan, to the role of Director, National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS). Noonan, who most recently worked as the inaugural safeguarding coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, took up this new role in January. NOPS sets out the Read more
Pope Francis has appointed Mr Bill Kilgallon to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Kilgallon is the Director of the National Office for Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. Dr. Krysten Winter-Green, another New Zealander now resident in the United States, has also been appointed to the Commission. Bill has Read more