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New Zealand Herald
June 29, 2002
'Friend and confidant' abused boys for 20 years
by Eugene Bingham
When
Father Alan Woodcock left after just a year at St Patrick's College,
Silverstream, the school yearbook ran a glowing tribute.
"Father Woodcock's stay at Silverstream has proved all too short," it
said. "He quickly established himself as a friend and confidant to those
boys with an interest in music and others who came to recognise and appreciate
his availability and sympathetic approach."
In fact, Woodcock was moved on from the
It was the second time complaints had been made against him, but it was far
from the last.
Cases like his have prompted NZ's bishops to make an
unprecedented statement to the country's 480,000 Catholics. At Masses today and
tomorrow, parishioners will hear a pastoral letter signed by all the bishops
apologising to any victims of sexual abuse within the church.
During his 20 years as a Marist priest, Woodcock molested at least eight boys
or young men. At least three times, senior figures in his order, the Society of
Mary, were made aware of the allegations.
Each time, he was sent for treatment, but also moved on.
The order now admits it made serious mistakes in the way it dealt with
Woodcock. It also says the police should have been called in.
"Certainly now we would immediately remove him from ministry, we would
send him for assessment and treatment and he would never again return to
ministry," the order's deputy leader, Father Tim Duckworth, said this
week.
"We would also strongly recommend people to go to the police."
In the 10 years since Woodcock left the Marist priests, fresh complaints have
been made against him and the order has set up an 0800
number for others who want to come forward.
Police are considering extraditing him from
He was a serial offender whose behaviour should have rung alarm bells. With the
benefit of hindsight, the order admits that.
Woodcock was ordained a Marist priest in 1972. Between then and 1979, he worked
at a variety of places, including
In 1979, Woodcock was convicted of a sex offence involving a man in
"That was the first time we were aware he had those [tendencies],"
said Father Duckworth.
Woodcock was moved to
With his music qualifications, Woodcock was sent to St Patrick's in 1982 -
despite his conviction.
Father Duckworth said the psychologist had told the order there was every
likelihood Woodcock could be rehabilitated.
But victims remain angry that he was allowed to work at St Patrick's.
During the year he was there, three sixth-form boys alleged Woodcock had
fondled them. The principal, Father Vincent Curtain, asked the Marists' chief at
the time, Father Fred Bliss, to remove Woodcock.
But Father Bliss decided to leave Woodcock at the school until the end of the
year.
For the rest of his time at St Patrick's, Woodcock was put under closer
scrutiny. He was subject to rules such as not having boys in his room with the
door closed.
Before the rules were imposed, though, Woodcock had dealings with another boy,
a 15-year-old sent to him for counselling.
The boy went to the police in the 1990s alleging abuse that went on even after
Woodcock left the school. Police decided not to move against Woodcock at the
time, but it is understood they may now extradite him.
After St Patrick's, Woodcock was sent to the Marist novitiate, a centre near
Palmerston North, for training candidates for the priesthood.
One man who knew Woodcock said this week: "I don't know what they were
thinking, sending him there - most of the guys who were training had come
straight out of school."
In 1984, Woodcock was moved to the Marists' Fotuna
retreat centre in
It was during these years that another young man received unwanted attention
from Woodcock. His allegations would not surface until the 1990s.
Woodcock was sent in 1986 to
There, he was visited by a former pupil who would later allege that Woodcock
groped him. The young man is one of five victims of abuse who have shared
$110,000 in payouts from the order.
Woodcock returned to
During the year, the boys' parents approached the order's new leader, Father Grahame Connolly, and said Woodcock had abused their sons.
According to Father Duckworth, the father of one of the boys and a friend of
the boy's family told Father Connolly they did not want to see Woodcock again.
"The friend of the father said, 'Do you understand what he means, Father
[Connolly]? We want him out of the country'," said Father Duckworth.
"[Father Connolly] decided the best place to send [Woodcock] was a
psychotherapy programme he found in
Woodcock lived with fellow Marists when he first arrived in
It is understood he trained as an art therapist and now lives in
The next formal contact with the order was several years ago when Woodcock was
removed from the priesthood.
Since Woodcock left, there have been changes in the order, including the
psychological screening of candidates and the assessment of individuals for
ministry work.
Father Duckworth says the order now has strict policies that would prevent the
same mistakes in handling sex abuse complaints being made again.
"In this day and age, we have risk assessments, and if I was to analyse
the risks [of Woodcock] with the abilities I have, we would definitely do
things differently," said Father Duckworth.
* The 0800 number the Society of Mary has set up for any victims of abuse or
their families to come forward will operate from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
The number is 0800-SMHELP (0800-764357).