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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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NZ Herald
March 2, 2002

NZ's churches prepared for sexual abuse claims
by James Gardiner

New Zealand churches have dealt with complaints of child molestation resulting in priests being defrocked and secret out-of-court compensation payments being made to victims.

As churches throughout the world continue to be rocked by child sex abuse scandals and allegations of cover-ups, churches in New Zealand have been reviewing how they deal with similar complaints.

The three largest - Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian, with around half a million followers each - have procedures to deal with complaints internally.

The Presbyterian church says it has had only one complaint in the past three years and that was referred to the police for prosecution.

Catholic bishops of Wellington and Christchurch have told the Weekend Herald of two cases of complaints being made against priests for sex offences against children.

Anglicans, too, have had to confront paedophiles among their clergy.

Catholic Bishop John Dew said the one case he was aware of in the diocese resulted in the priest being moved permanently away from any contact with children, receiving psychological treatment and ongoing counselling and support.

Bishop Dew said the complainant, no longer a child, did not wish to take the matter to the police but wanted closure for peace of mind and to ensure there were no other victims.

In Canterbury, a Catholic priest was expelled from the priesthood and prosecuted by police after an investigation by the church, the Bishop of Christchurch, John Cunneen, said yesterday.

He would not name the priest, but Patrick Arthur Thomas Thwaites was jailed for 2 1/2 years in October 1999 for indecent assaults on boys in Christchurch and the West Coast.

Neither bishop was prepared to say how much was paid to the complainants.

But in a nationally-publicised case, sums of $30,000 and $20,000 were paid in 1999 to two men who were molested by Marist brother Bryan McKay when they were students of a school in Hamilton, of which he was principal, in 1978 and 1980.

McKay pleaded guilty, was jailed for 21 months and served seven.

In the United States and Australia churches have paid millions of dollars in compensation to victims of sex abuse by clergymen.

Anglican Bishop George Connor of Tauranga said his church had received complaints and had a process where tribunals were set up to investigate the allegations.

Compensatory payments had been made and clergymen had lost their jobs, but these incidents had occurred in other diocese and he did not know the details.

On its Internet website (www.anglican.org.nz) the Anglican church lists its rules on pastoral oversight and chastity, stating that "It is a serious abuse of power to use a calling or a pastoral position to further a personal relationship of an emotional or sexual nature, and it is a breach of duty".

Sexual abuse of children is described as "an utter disregard of humanity and a complete repudiation of the teaching of Christ".