WELLINGTON (NEW ZEALAND)
La Croix International [Montrouge Cedex, France]
July 25, 2024
An inquiry in New Zealand found 200,000 people were abused in state and faith-based institutions over several decades. The Catholic Church pledged to improve safeguarding and support to victims, while the government plans to formally apologize to survivors in November.
After an independent inquiry found that 200,000 people were abused in New Zealand state and faith-based institutions over seven decades, Catholic Church leaders in the country reiterated their commitment to responding to abuse, safeguarding, and ensuring church spaces are safe.
“There is work for the government to do and work to be undertaken by many other people. We understand that within the community, some of us — including leaders in the Catholic Church — have a special role to play to ensure that the findings and recommendations of this significant Inquiry are not lost or confined to words in a report. We commit to that role,” said a message issued jointly by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the Catholic Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa NZ following the final report of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care.
No tolerance for abuse in the church
“Abuse is not only historical, nor confined to one part of society or another. The Inquiry’s report and the material that we heard from victims and survivors make that crystal clear…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 (extended family group), for faith communities, and for society. This is not just an exercise in looking backward. We look forward. We will continue to improve safeguarding in all aspects of church life. There is not, and will not be, any tolerance for abuse in the church,” the Catholic Church leaders said.
The Royal Commission, New Zealand’s highest level of inquiry, concluded a six-year investigation. It reported July 24 that out of the 650,000 children and vulnerable adults in state, foster, and church care between 1950 and 2019, nearly a third suffered physical, sexual, verbal, or psychological abuse. Many more were exploited or neglected. This occurred in a country with a population of 5 million today. Soon after the report was released, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said his government would formally apologize to survivors on November 12.
A summary of the Royal Commission of Inquiry reports:
– “Unimaginable” and widespread abuse in care between 1950 and 2019 amounts to a “national disgrace.”
– 200,000 out of an estimated 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 report calls for:
– Apologies from the government as well as from the pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury as global heads of the churches responsible, along with other religious bodies and organizations.
– An inquiry into evidence of unmarked graves at former psychiatric hospitals and the establishment of a specialist police unit dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the 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. 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 between now and Sunday. This will signal the importance of immediately acknowledging the report as an issue for everyone in the churches,” Professor David Tombs, director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at Otago University, wrote in an opinion piece in the Waikato Times.