The Catholic Church in New Zealand has become the latest ministry to be embroiled in allegations of misconduct, admitting publicly on Saturday to 38 cases of sexual abuse committed by men of the cloth.
Senior church figures on Friday confessed the extent of the problem and that way of the church had dealt with offenders in the past was wrong, the New Zealand Herald reported on Saturday.
Church authorities said that under new policies they would remove any known paedophiles from public ministry and strongly recommend victims to take criminal complaints to the police.
The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Patrick Dunn, said the New Zealand priesthood was scandalised by the sex abuse cases, but was taking it in its stride.
”My impression is that we are all very saddened, but the morale seems to be quite high,” he said.
Earlier this month Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of US Bishop Kendrick Williams who had been charged in two separate US civil lawsuits of sexual abuse dating back several decades.
The bishop, who has denied the charges, was the third senior official to step down in the scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
In Australia, the church’s most senior prelate, Sydney
Archbishop George Pell has been accused of trying to cover up cases of abuse by paedophile priests and buy off victims.
The new openness in dealing with sex abuse here is reflected in the New Zealand Catholic church’s new stance on confidentiality clauses, which formerly prohibited revealing details of settlements.
The St John of God Brothers said they had ordered lawyers to remove confidentiality clauses from deals worth 300 000 NZ dollars ($150 000 US) already made with five victims and to ensure future agreements do not have them.
The largest order of priests in New Zealand, the Society of Mary, also gave a written undertaking it would not take action against victims who spoke out.
Bishops from the country’s six dioceses said committees set up in the early 1990s to deal with sexual abuse complaints had substantiated 38 claims dating back to the 1950s.
They included complaints against priests, brothers and lay members of the church in positions of authority, and covered cases involving children and teenagers, as well as adults receiving pastoral care.
In one of the most serious cases just revealed, Marist Brother Charles Afeaki was sentenced in 1994 to eight years imprisonment for 15 sex offences against boys, including sodomy.
Afeaki was criticised on sentencing for being ”a wretched hypocrite” for maintaining his innocence. Church authorities declined previous requests to reveal the number of cases but the bishops decided this week to give the figures.
Catholic Communications director Lyndsay Freer said the change in attitude had developed over the past 12 years.
”The church… has come to understand the need for openness and transparency so that people can be empowered to come forward with complaints and the healing process can take place. We now know that kind of sexual behaviour is addictive and has to be treated appropriately, and the person must be removed from any opportunity to reoffend,” she said.
Offenders are now sent for treatment in Australia and removed from public ministry upon their return. – Sapa-AFP