Royal Commission case: the cover-up of Marist Brother "Z.A."

Broken Rites
June 7, 2014

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/293

Australia's national child-abuse Royal Commission is currently investigating how Catholic Church authorities ignored the crimes of a Marist Brother who (for legal reasons) is being referred to as "Brother Z.A." He was inflicted on Australian Catholic schoolchildren for 20 years. The letters "Z.A." do not refer to this Brother's real name; this is merely the Royal Commission's code-name for him. Some revelations about the cover-up are likely.

Broken Rites understands that "Brother Z.A"  worked as a primary teacher, from the early 1970s to the early 1990s, in various Catholic schools in Queensland, New South Wales and Canberra.

Starting on 10 June 2014, the Royal Commission is holding a week or more of public hearings (Case Study 13) which will include the question of how the Marist Brothers administration responded (or failed to respond) to the crimes of "Brother ZA", plus another Marist (Brother John "Kostka" Chute).

These public hearings will examine:

• Any steps taken (or not taken) by the Marist authorities to report these allegations to the police.
• The response of government and other agencies to these allegations.
• The settling of compensation claims for victims of Marist Brothers, including Brother Kostka Chute and Brother Z.A.

The public hearings of Case Study 13 (including both Kostka Chute and ZA) will be streamed, via webcast, on the Royal Commission’s website.  To reach the Commission's webpage for Case Study 13, click HERE.

This hearings are being held in Canberra but the issue is of Australia-wide significance.

•  As the public hearings will also include an examination of the crimes of Marist Brother John "Kostka" Chute, you can see a Broken Rites article about Brother "Kostka" HERE.
• And see another article by Broken Rites (about compensation for victims) HERE.