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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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The conviction of
Bernard Kevin McGrath on only some of the charges brought against him will
distress his many victims. They had sought guilty verdicts on all the 54
charges as formal recognition of the appalling suffering he had caused. But
they do have the satisfaction of knowing McGrath has been found to have been
a monster of sexual abuse, that at least some of his vile activities are now
on the public record, and that his name is irredeemably tarnished. Similarly tarnished is
the reputation of the order in which McGrath has spent his life, St John of
God. It sheltered him and, it seems, a significant number of other members
for three decades while they abused the vulnerable boys in their care.
Because it is believed that abuse was occurring at Marylands from its
founding in 1955, perpetrated by a generation of brothers senior to McGrath,
it is difficult to believe that the order's hierarchy at Maryland's was
wholly unaware of what was going on, given the fraternal community in which
the brothers lived and the disciplines of the religious life. If the
hierarchy was unaware of the abuse, it was derelict in its duty; if it was
aware or suspected and did not act, it was culpable. It almost certainly was
aware at a comparatively early stage and responded by moving him to different
church institutions as the complaints against him mounted. The failure of St
John of God to effectively investigate McGrath and his associates in sin and hand
them to the authorities when the first complaints against them were made at
Marylands allowed the abuse to continue for years and dozens more boys to be
abused. It is uncertain how
many boys were corrupted, but it is likely far more were involved than have
come forward. The unchecked activities of the abusers, the length of their
careers, and the numbers of pupils in their care suggest a high total. Death
will have removed some of the abused and others must be unwilling to reopen
old wounds. But what is on record is shocking – 17 complainants and the
largest abuse trial in New Zealand history. McGrath has been convicted of
abusing 15 children throughout his time with the order. Twenty-four former
Maryland's pupils associated with McGrath and his associates have committed
suicide or died young in unexplained circumstances. St John of God has
moved significantly to compensate victims and reform its practices, paying
out more than $5 million, but the process began slowly and hesitantly. It has
also been wrong-headed in part; the early attempt to gag those offered
compensation must have been intended to protect the order from more scrutiny
and more expense, not to get the issues out into the open, and indeed may
have prevented the offending from coming to light sooner. The result of the
secrecy was more trauma for the victims and more damage to the order's
reputation. Even today, the repercussions continue: a pervasive sense exists
that all has not been disclosed, that guilty men are still being protected. The bad impression of
the order is strengthened by its refusal to require three of its members to
return to New Zealand from Australia to stand trial for 64 offences they are
alleged to have committed at Marylands. The attempt to extradite them has
been going on for three years and is still being appealed. Those involved
plead physical impairment as reasons for their staying in Australia, but only
one is plainly too ill to face a court. Had St John of God considered justice
and closure for its victims as more important than the protection of its
members from shaming, it would have ensured their prompt appearance at the
Christchurch court. The failure to do so leaves the sordid business
unresolved. In the interim, the order's reputation will continue to be challenged
and victims to suffer. That is a tragedy. What went on at Marylands was
horrific – the worst sequence of child abuse on record in New Zealand,
involving religious brothers pledged to God, vulnerable children, carried out
over 29 years and involving serious indecencies repeatedly performed. A rapid
and thorough accounting for this terrible history would have allowed its
victims to heal their wounds, reconfigure their lives, and prevented later
pupils suffering the same fate. The delivery of the verdicts against McGrath
is a significant boost to that process, but does not produce closure. |
