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Allegations
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St John of God has
reportedly paid out $1m in legal fees to stop alleged sexual abusers going to
trial in New Zealand. An advocate for victims
of sexual abuse says that the St John of God Brothers should immediately stop
paying the legal costs of two brothers who are seeking to avoid facing court
for crimes allegedly committed in New Zealand. Ken Clearwater, the
director of the NZ charitable trust Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, told Online
Catholics that the two St John of God brothers should face charges laid some
15 months ago by the New Zealand court relating to the sexual abuse of some
110 children in the residential school Marylands, in Christchurch, between
1959 and 1981. Marylands educated intellectually disabled children as well as
others with learning or social difficulties. The brothers were the
subject of a full investigation by New Zealand police in 2002 and face a
total of 32 sexual assault charges against former students at the school for
boys. Since that time both men have been fighting to stay in Australia - to
avoid court in New Zealand - at St John of God's expense. It is understood that
the order has already paid out some $1m. in costs on behalf of two, Fr
Raymond John Garchow (57) and Br Rodger Maloney (70) who are appealing an
extradition order imposed by Magistrate Hugh Dillon in February. A third
member of the order also charged with crimes relating to sexual abuse,
William Labler, was freed last February due to age and ill health. Mr Clearwater, who
works with the adult survivors of abuse at the Marylands School, said that in
broad terms he was very satisfied with the way in which St John of God
provincial Br Peter Burke had responded to the claims of victims of abuse.
"Peter Burke has done everything he possibly can to see these people go
to trial," Mr Clearwater said. "He hasn't tried to hide anything.
He has offered compensation and a process to victims. He has encouraged
people to go to the police." The order has already
paid out $3.58 million to 56 complainants who say they were sexually abused
as boys at its former residential school in Christchurch in the 1960s and
70s. It is believed that the order also paid some $63,000 in legal fees on
behalf of the complainants. But Ken Clearwater says
that it is justice, not compensation, which is the issue. "One of the
six alleged abusers, Br Bernard McGrath, goes to trial in the next 8 weeks
here in New Zealand. Another alleged abuser, Br Ford, is going to trial. One
is dead. The other three are in Australia. "On what possible
basis should Br Maloney and Fr Garchow avoid trial?" Mr Clearwater
asked. In court in Sydney on
Monday, Barrister Paul Byrne SC said that the men would not obtain a fair
trial in New Zealand. Online Catholics
contacted Br Peter Burke to ask why the order was continuing to support what
appears to be a legal maneovre by the alleged abusers and their solicitor,
Greg Walsh, to avoid trial. Br Burke said that Canon Law obliged an order to
pay the legal expenses of members. He said that Catholics could be assured
that the funds used did not come from donations or other bequests to the
Order of St John of God. Jesuit Theological
College's Professor Geoffrey King, a canonist, said that there has been a broad
expectation amongst clergy and religious that legal expenses will be covered
by an order. "Canon 670 says that 'The institute must supply the members
with everything that, in accordance with the constitutions, is necessary to
fulfil the purpose of their vocation.' (see Canons) "This ordinarily
includes necessities of life such as food, clothing and housing, education,
formation and intellectual and professional assistance. Since the advent of
the sexual abuse crisis, it has also been interpreted to include the costs of
defending a sexual abuse allegation," Professor King says. However the Church's
Toward Healing Protocols, which detail the principles and procedures in
responding to complaints of sexual abuse, is silent on the question of who
should pay. The Protocols also fail to address the question of what should be
the Church's responsibility in cases where alleged abusers are subject of an
extradition order. For Ken Clearwater, $1m
on the avoidance of a proper trial is thoroughly wrong. "I estimate that
$1m each is about the amount that might begin to get my clients' lives in
some sort of shape," he says. "But money cannot compensate for what
happened to them. Almost all are effectively institutionalised after what
happened. After being abused at Marylands, a good many ended up in mental
institutions. Some ended up in prison," Mr Clearwater said. One million dollars
would be better spent in creating supports to people damaged by sexual abuse,
he says. "They need education, housing and help in maintaining
relationships, as they have few social skills. These people need some sort of
place they can go to learn the social and vocational skills they need to
function in society," Mr Clearwater said. "St John of God and the
Church in New Zealand could collaborate on it," he said. It appears that there
is no actual Church law or protocol which requires a religious order or a
diocese to pay the legal costs of an alleged abuser, although this tends to
be the ordinary practice. There is however a
worldwide acknowledgement that Church authorities should no longer act in
ways that could hinder a criminal investigation. Providing the funds which
would enable alleged abusers to avoid a proper trial, however, may do just
that. |
