Hillsong leader speaks of 'painful' abuse allegations against his father Frank Houston

By Nicole Chettle
ABC News
October 8, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-08/hillsong-leader-speaks-about-abuse-claims-against-his-father/5798342

Hillsong church leader Brian Houston refuted claims he told an alleged child abuse victim he was to blame for "tempting" his attacker.

The royal commission heard the late preacher Frank Houston admitted to abusing children.

The commission heard Pastor Barbara Taylor (left) told a victim she would support him if he did not pursue court action.

The head of the Hillsong Church says his heart breaks for the victims of child abuse perpetrated by his father, the late preacher Frank Houston.

Senior Pastor Brian Houston spoke outside a Sydney hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The commission is examining the handling of allegations against Brian Houston's father William Francis Houston, better known as Frank.

It has heard Frank Houston admitted to the abuse, which took place in Australia and New Zealand several decades ago.

"They're true allegations, mainly, and so it's painful," he said.

"It's been painful for 15 years.

"But you know I also understand my pain's nothing compared to someone who been molested or sexually abused by a paedophile, by a predator."

Brian Houston again refuted claims, heard before the royal commission on Tuesday, that he told an abuse victim they were to blame for "tempting" his father.

"My heart goes out to every victim of my father, it breaks my heart," he said.

"One thing that I would strongly refute is that ... I suggested that a child would somehow be responsible for an adult's actions, a paedophile's actions.

"I don't think that, I've never thought that. I wouldn't say that."

Brian Houston's Hillsong Church spans 12 countries and 35,000 people attend its services in Australia each weekend. 

He said any damage to the church's reputation was a secondary issue, but the church was resilient and would emerge from the inquiry as it had many other things.

Brian Houston is expected to give evidence on Thursday.

Earlier, the commission heard a Pentecostal pastor told one of Frank Houston's alleged victims she would stand by him as long as he did not pursue court action.

Pastor Barbara Taylor, from the Emmanuel Christian Family Church, gave evidence about a man known as AHA, who said he was molested by Frank Houston in the 1960s and 70s when he was the superintendent of the New Zealand Assemblies of God.

Pastor Taylor told the commission she learned about the allegations from AHA's mother in 1998 and thought the church should respond before any criminal proceedings.

"I felt the church should discipline Frank Houston and stand him down immediately and then go to the secular courts," she said.

"I felt the church had a responsibility to clean up its own house."

Pastor Taylor was asked if she thought the matter involving AHA should be referred to the police.

"No," she replied.

"[AHA] was horrified to think anyone knew about it and I didn't think he would go to the police."

She also told the hearing she had sought advice from an independent counselling practice that said she should not "go ahead of the victim and initiate actions he had not sanctioned".

Pastor Taylor said at the time she was a minister at Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, and was reluctant to name Frank Houston when she referred the allegations to her superior at the Assemblies of God during a meeting on November 4, 1998.

She told the commission that Pastor John McMartin, who was on the state executive for the Assemblies of God, did not ask who the alleged perpetrator was.

Pastor Taylor said she was trying to restrain her colleague, Pastor Kevin Mudford, who was furious about the alleged abuse and wanted to "blow it out of the water" and have Frank Houston "immediately dealt with".

She advised Pastor Mudford not to name Frank Houston, and was amazed when he complied.

"This was a high flyer in the Assemblies of God," she said, referring to Frank Houston.

"I suppose in hindsight, it was a fear."

Pastor Taylor said Frank Houston was "highly respected, highly regarded not only in Australia but overseas".

"And here am I from a small church coming to make such an allegation about one incident with a young man who was vacillating - one day he's going to go ahead with it, and the next day he's not," she said.

"I felt I was between a rock and a hard place."

Pastor Taylor said that if fresh allegations of child abuse were brought to her attention today she would respond differently.

"I still think the church should clean up its own act," she said.

"But if anyone came to me today with a report of sexual abuse I would follow the directive given by Pastor Ian Woods to send them straight to the police."

Pastor Taylor told the commission she hoped it would produce guidelines for institutions to develop a code of conduct for handling abuse allegations. 

She said she was still concerned for AHA because "he's still hurting and he's still wounded".

"To me the case is not successfully concluded till there's some kind of healing for him," she said.

The commission also heard from the former national secretary of the Assemblies of God churches, Keith Ainge.

He said the organisation did not take the allegations to police because AHA was aged over 30 and could do so himself.

The commission heard that Brian Houston was the leader of the Assemblies of God churches when he was made aware of allegations against his father and raised them at a national executive meeting in December 1999.

Mr Ainge said Brian Houston told the meeting his father was accused of sexually immoral behaviour towards a minor.

The meeting moved immediately to suspend Frank Houston, but did not recommend the matter be referred to police.