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Accusations of Abuse in
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New Zealand Herald
June 22, 2002
Exorcising demon priests who sin
by Eugene Bingham and Catherine Masters
Broken
and dangerous men in need of repair, they fly across the Tasman in search of healing.
A ride through the suburbs of
This is where Catholic brothers and priests have been confronting the demons
that have troubled them and stirred the entire church.
Encompass Australasia, a treatment and assessment centre set up by the church
in
Clergy from
Where the Catholic Church would once simply shift a sex offender to another
community, it now sends him to
Dr Tony Robinson, a clinical psychologist and chief executive of Encompass,
says the programme shows the church recognises that sexual abuse is a serious
dysfunction, not just a spiritual failing.
"That was a really regrettable thing and I think that bishops historically
would have thought of it that way because that was their training," says
Dr Robinson.
"Now they realise this is criminal behaviour."
Encompass was set up in 1997 by the Australian church and is now run as an
independent service for all denominations and even non-clergy.
It has a six-month treatment programme for people with serious psycho-sexual
disorders.
"We give them skills so they don't offend again," says Dr Robinson.
Support groups and behavioural contracts also make sure that once the offender
returns to
Rodger Smith, a counsellor who worked on a
"The awareness 10 years ago was very low and the protocols were almost
non-existent," he says.
Almost all major denominations now had protocols for dealing with sexual abuse.
Mr Smith, who has treated sexual abusers including priests, has examined the
reasons behind abuse.
"One of the issues may be around how the church allows their clergy to be
human - and I don't mean necessarily sexual," he says.
"The church has put the clergy on a pedestal."
This diminishes their ability to have good relationships with others.
One priest Mr Smith counselled had no normal contact with people. "You
can't then just make an automatic leap and say that therefore entitled him to
abuse youth but it is one of the broader issues."
It is also difficult for priests to admit within the church that they are
having sexual fantasies, Mr Smith says.
"Do you go and admit that to someone and then risk being defrocked? Are
there people within the church who would understand the issues if you did take
it to them?
"There's a big learning curve needing to go on within the church around
this."
John McCarthy, the director of Safe, an intensive treatment programme for sex
offenders, says at least five priests have used the service.
He believes that is only the tip of an iceberg.
"I don't know how big the iceberg is, but that would not be all the clergy
in the
He says denials that there is a crisis within the priesthood over sexual abuse beggars belief.
"If within any profession there were people sexually abusing children in
the numbers that are reported, I'm unclear how you could call that anything
else."
The Catholic Bishop of
The church has made many changes to the way it deals with sexual abuse
allegations, Bishop Dunn says.
Last year, it updated protocols for handling complaints so allegations could be
dealt with in a uniform and thorough manner.
Complaints are sent to six diocesan committees, which are empowered to
investigate allegations and uphold the principle that any attempt to sexualise
a pastoral relationship is a betrayal of trust, an abuse of authority and
professional misconduct.
Where complaints are upheld, the offender is sent for assessment and removed
from public ministry.
Dr Ian Lambie, a senior lecturer in psychology at
"It needs to be identified to the whole church community, rather than just
kept within maybe a small number of people.
"I'm not saying 'out them' exactly, but make sure they are in an
environment where they don't have contact with kids and they are getting
treatment."
At Encompass, Dr Robinson says he believes that the church in
Although Bishop Dunn says morale is high among priests, he also admits that the
issue has changed the way some deal with their congregations, especially
children.
"Much like in the teaching profession, priests have to be prudent -
everyone wants to make sure that anything they do can't be
misinterpreted."
A
"When you walk down the street, you can feel that people are looking at you
[as if you are guilty]. Then you get people you taught asking you to celebrate
their wedding for them, and you realise not everybody thinks that, but it's
hard.
"Those who always thought we were creeps will always think that, but I
think the vast majority of people realise that this is just a small
minority."
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Payouts made to the victims
Catholic orders have made payouts to victims of sexual abuse by priests and brothers.
These payments include the following:
SOCIETY OF MARY
(Marist priests and brothers)
$110,000 in total to five people who alleged they had been abused by three
priests. The payments were for counselling as well as recognition of suffering.
Two of the priests were dead at the time the complaints were made and the other
left the order.
$300,000 paid out to five people who made allegations against four brothers,
none of whom remain active in the order. One of the brothers, who is retired, strongly denies the allegations against him.
Another, Brother Kevin McGrath, served prison sentences in
MARIST BROTHERS
140,000 to victims of five brothers, including $50,000 to two victims of
Brother Bryan McKay, former principal of