Catholic Order Denies "Culture of Collusion" over Abuse

By Lisa Whitehead
ABC News
December 6, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-06/ex-nun-speaks-out-about-catholic-order/4413736

Among the litany of accusations that led to the recent announcement of a royal commission into institutional child sexual abuse, none have been more shocking than those surrounding the Catholic order Saint John of God.

A former nun, who worked for the order, has spoken to 7.30 about what she says is a culture of collusion within its ranks.

Most of the boys and young men placed in their care were intellectually disabled - the Brothers took a vow dedicating themselves to serving the church in the assistance of those who suffer and are in need.

But dozens of the boys in institutions run by SJOG have alleged they were subjected to horrifying sexual and physical abuse at the hands of some of the brothers.

The story hit the headlines in the past week with the arrest in New Zealand of Bernard McGrath, a former brother accused of molesting 35 children in a home for intellectually disabled boys.

In a class action settled in 2002, allegations were made against more than 20 brothers.

The Order admitted 24 boys and men with disabilities were sexually abused in three homes in Victoria over 30 years.

It paid $3.6 million in compensation to the victims.

But despite the widespread claims and compensation being awarded to victims, Victoria Police say the Catholic Church has never referred a single complaint to it for investigation.

'Ritual abuse'

Former nun Michelle Mulvihill was on the Order's professional standards committee for seven years and head of it for three years.

Ms Mulvahill, a psychologist, heard horrific accounts of alleged abuse from hundreds of men who had lived at the boys' homes.

"My latest count is about 200 victims, each of whom would have 5, 6, 10 or 20 allegations so we're up to the thousands in terms of the number of incidents," she said.

"Some children had complained of being tortured. We heard stories about children committing suicide. We were taken to graveyards to see their gravestones in some places.

"And there were acts of ritual abuse, I would call it, where perpetrators would sit in a group with young boys and conduct sex with them and then sit back and watch boys conduct sex with each other."

Between 2000 and 2003, she travelled numerous times to New Zealand with the head of the Order to speak to men who claimed they had been abused in the homes it ran there.

But she says she was shocked by the attitude within the Order to the allegations.

"The first level of attitude was 'we need to do something to help these victims, we have been founded to help people who live on the fringe, we need to be the good guys here'," she said.

"But underneath that there was a soft belly, of hardness, of criticism of people, of laughing at them, of going 'that boy was a liar at school so he's still a liar, still lying', of turning people away, and of protecting themselves and one another."

Ms Mulvahill quit the church in 2007, disgusted about how it was handling complaints.

She wrote to the head of the Order of St John of God, in Rome, demanding the organisation be shut down in Australia, but says her complaints were ignored.

'Abused every day'

One of the victims of abuse by members of the Order of St John of God is Michael Madsen

Mr Madsen, now 43, was sent in 1980 by his family to board at one of the homes run by of the Order.

"I was abused every day, sometimes I was bashed and sometimes raped, every day dragged along the floor at eight years old or nine years of age, it's just not right," he said.

In compensation for his abuse, Mr Madsen received two confidential payments from the Order.

One was in 1992 and the second in 1995 after he says he threatened to go to the police and the media with his allegations of abuse by another brother.

The Order did not admit liability and Mr Madsen had to agree to discontinue any proceedings already commenced in any court.

"It's a huge cover up - obviously and the church is just paying money out when they have to or when they see something in the newspaper," he said.

"I expect a phone call from them tomorrow asking for their money back. I believe that's going to happen."

Mr Madsen is the sole carer for his five-year-old son, but he has no contact with his six other children.

He says his experiences have left him scarred and fearful of trusting his child with other people.

"I have a five-year-old child that I have to focus on 24 hours a day and protect," he said.

"And I have to put him to school next year - I know he's not going to be abused there, but I'm scared to give someone else the responsibility to take care of him.

"I love him to death and he needs to know and that's why I'm doing all this now - I want him to grow up seeing his dad stood up and did this."