www.peterellis.co.nz : seeking justice for Peter Ellis : mail to: [email protected]

Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

Index: Home Page Peter Ellis
Index: Accusations in Institutions

<<< earlier News Reports June 2002 later >>>

2002-0629 - The Press - It's not a case of Catholic bashing
by Cate Brett - Picture this: an eight-year-old pyjama-clad boy paddling down a hushed corridor in pursuit of a promised treat. Instead, he is forced to gratify the frustrated sexual needs of a 28-year-old religious brother in whose care he has been placed. For any parent the image, drawn from a Christchurch man's raw account of abuse suffered at St John of God's Halswell home for boys, is ……

2002-0629 - The Press - A cross to bear
by Geoff Collett - The nightmare of sexual abuse scandals is unfolding in the Catholic Church in New Zealand. Geoff Collett asks how the Church is going to confront it. Mere weeks ago, the demons of the New Zealand Catholic Church's past slumbered in its deeper recesses. Even as the Catholic parishes of America and Australia watched in despair while their nightmares unfolded, in New Zealand the Church hierarchy tiptoed around the edges of the darkness, disturbing it only as much as was necessary to assure anxious onlookers that all was well.

2002-0629 - The Press - White-collar crime
by Yvonne Martin - An image of trust hides a tale of abuse. In a special report, The Press continues its scrutiny of the Catholic Church's handling of abuse by its clergy in New Zealand

2002-0629 - The Press - Lifting the veil on abuse 20 years on
Old photographs, like certain smells, can send us tumbling back through time, stirring memories, reawakening emotions. Take the picture on the right, found in The Press picture library, freezing on film a brief exchange between a brother and a boy at a gathering in 1980 of the Catholic Order of St John of God's Marylands residential school for boys in Halswell. The young boy looking into the eyes of Brother William Lebler is Brian Uttinger. In the background wearing glasses is Brother Bernard McGrath. Behind this photograph, and its image of trust and happiness, is a tale of horrific sexual abuse -- in which McGrath was a central figure and Brian Uttinger a principal victim.

2002-0629 - One News - Church sets up abuse hotline
A Catholic order has set up a hotline for people who may have been sexually abused by priests or brothers. Its launch co-incides with the New Zealand Catholic Church's first ever official public apology to sexual abuse victims this weekend, which will be read at services throughout the country

2002-0629 - NZ Herald - '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."

2002-0629 - NZ Herald - Churches taking tough line with clergy who prey
by Catherine Masters and Eugene Bingham - The country's main religions say they have policies of zero tolerance towards sexual abusers within their midst. The Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians say complaints of a criminal nature should be made to the police, and they would strongly urge complainants to do so.

2002-0629 - NZ Herald - Call in police for abusers says ex-priest
by Catherine Masters - Priests who sexually abuse should be investigated by the police and treated no differently from ordinary citizens, says a former priest. Chanel Houlahan, now married with children, could not accept the Catholic Church's strict authoritarian stance on a range of issues - especially its covering up of sexual abuse by clergy - and quit his ministry in dismay seven years ago. The Weekend Herald last week revealed that, after years of refusing to go public, the church had substantiated 38 cases of sexual abuse by men in its ranks.

2002-0629 - Evening Post - Sex abuse reveales at Wgtn school
by Kathryn Powley - A Marist priest who taught music at St Patrick's College Silverstream in the 1980s allegedly sexually abused four students at the school before he was removed. A Society of Mary spokesman, Father Tim Duckworth, said today that Father Alan Woodcock was appointed to St Patrick's in 1982 despite having already been convicted of a sex offence.

2002-0628 - The Press - Church letter on abuse
by Yvonne Martin - New Zealand's Catholic bishops are responding to the mounting revelations of sexual abuse within their clergy with a formal letter on the subject to go to the country's Catholics this weekend. The Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, John Cunneen, said he and his colleagues wanted to "speak to our people in the light of what we have come to know, especially in the last few weeks", about sexual offending by Catholic priests and brothers.

2002-0628 - Southland Times - Man alleges Catholic sex abuse
by Julie Asher - Invercargill police have been contacted by one man so far who says he was sexually abused at a Catholic residential school in Christchurch during the 1960s. Detective Sergeant Brian Hewett said detectives had preliminary discussions with a man in his 40s who alleges he was abused at the school in the 1960s. That was not to say there were not more in the pipeline but no one else had contacted Invercargill police so far, Mr Hewett said.

2002-0628 - The Press - Congregations to receive sex abuse letter from bishops
New Zealand's Catholic bishops are responding to the mounting revelations of sexual abuse within their clergy with a formal letter on the subject to go to the country's Catholics this weekend. The Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, John Cunneen, said he and his colleagues wanted to "speak to our people in the light of what we have come to know especially in the last few weeks" about sexual offending by Catholic priests and brothers. The content of the letter will only be made public once it has been sent to all the country's parishes over the weekend.

2002-0628 - Evening Post - Bishops' abuse letter
NZPA - New Zealand's Catholic bishops are to respond to mounting revelations of sexual abuse with a formal letter on the subject to go to the country's Catholics this weekend

2002-0628 - Dominion - Bishops to send letter concerning sex abuse
NZPA - New Zealand's Catholic bishops are responding to mounting revelations of sexual abuse within their clergy with a formal letter on the subject to go to Catholics this weekend. The Bishop of Christchurch, John Cunneen, said he and his colleagues wanted to "speak to our people in the light of what we have come to know especially in the last few weeks" about sexual offending by Catholic priests and brothers.

2002-0627 - The Press - Secret payouts
Letter to the Editor by Michael Fairbrother - If an individual rugby club in Christchurch made payments with secrecy clauses to former players for abuse by junior coaches would The Press report that the Canterbury Rugby Football Union made the payments and insisted on secrecy? No. It would report that the individual club was responsible. Why then is it "the Church" that made the payments and insisted on the secrecy (editorial, June 20)? It was the Order of St John of God

2002-0627 - The Press - Catholics suspend brother
by Yvonne Martin - A Catholic leader has been stood down from duties after fresh abuse allegations were made against him. Brother Rodger Moloney, who was in charge of the St John of God Order's residential school Marylands in Christchurch as prior in the 1970s, has been ordered to step aside from his leadership role in Sydney while the allegations are investigated.

2002-0627 - One News - Catholic brother stood down
A Catholic brother who ran a school for disadvantaged children in New Zealand has been stood down from his duties in Australia. Brother Rodger Moloney who headed Marylands Special School in Christchurch in the 1970s has been suspended amid fresh allegations he was abusing boys in his care.

2002-0627 - Evening Post - More abuse claims
NZPA - A Catholic leader has been stood down from duties after fresh abuse allegations were made against him in the St John of God Order sex scandal. Brother Rodger Moloney, who was in charge of the order's Christchurch residential school, Marylands, in the 1970s, has been ordered to step aside from his leadership role in Sydney while allegations against him are investigated

2002-0627 - Dominion - Brother stood down as abuse scandal escalates
NZPA - A Catholic leader has been stood down from duties after fresh abuse allegations were made against him as a sex scandal escalates in the St John of God order. Brother Rodger Moloney, who was in charge of the order's residential school, Marylands, in Christchurch as prior in the 1970s, has been ordered to step aside from his present leadership role in Sydney while allegations against him are investigated.

2002-0625 - Waikato Times - Police prepared for abuse claims
NZPA - A senior Christchurch detective will oversee any fresh complaints that arise from the sex scandal within the Catholic St John of God Order. The order has secretly paid out $300,000 to five complainants who allege they were abused at Marylands, a former Christchurch residential school, in the 1960s and 1970s

2002-0625 - Timaru Herald - Woman tells of son's plight at Catholic sc
A Timaru woman whose son attended a Catholic school at the centre of sexual abuse allegations says the issue is not just about paedophilia but also the abuse of trust. A total of $300,000 has been paid to five victims of four St John of God brothers at Marylands residential school in Christchurch. For Anne Hudson, whose son Campbell attended the school for eight years from 1966, the abuse was a monstrous abuse of trust.

2002-0625 - The Press - Police ready for abuse complaints
by Yvonne Martin - A senior Christchurch detective will oversee any fresh complaints that arise from the sex scandal within the Catholic St John of God Order. The order has secretly paid out $300,000 to five complainants who allege they were abused at Marylands, a former residential school, in the 1960s and 1970s. Four Christchurch brothers have had claims made against them, none of whom remain working for the order.

2002-0625 - Dominion - Detective to oversee abuse claims
NZPA - A senior detective will oversee any fresh complaints that arise from the emerging sex scandal within the Catholic St John of God Order. The order has secretly paid out $300,000 to five complainants who allege they were abused at Marylands, a former Christchurch residential school, in the 1960s and 1970s.

2002-0624 - The Press - Payouts from faithful
by Keri Welham - Catholic orders nationwide have used collection-plate donations to finance payouts of more than $500,000 to victims of sexual abuse. Figures released at the weekend show a total of 38 sexual-abuse complaints against Fathers and Brothers of the church in the past decade. Director of Catholic Communications Lindsay Freer said she knew of three large payouts made by church orders, totalling $550,000.

2002-0624 - Dominion - Church owns up to 38 abuse cases
NZPA - The Catholic Church in New Zealand says 38 confirmed cases of sexual abuse have been committed by men in its ranks. Senior church figures admitted the extent of offending and that their previous way of dealing with offenders was wrong. Church authorities said that under new policies, they would remove any known paedophiles from public ministry and strongly recommend victims to take criminal complaints to the police.

2002-0622 - The Press - Dis-orderly conduct
by Yvonne Martin - The Catholic Order of St John of God is embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal spanning both sides of the Tasman. In an ongoing investigation by The Press into abuse by brothers running Christchurch's Marylands school, Yvonne Martin speaks to a second victim, paid nearly $95,000 in a confidential settlement

2002-0622 - The Press - Details of abuse surface
by Yvonne Martin - A Christchurch man has been paid nearly $95,000 by a Catholic order after sex abuse he suffered at Marylands boarding school in the 1970s. Several fresh complainants are emerging to tell their stories and seek justice from the Order of St John of God, which is at the centre of the escalating trans- Tasman sex scandal. The latest secret deal for $94,900 is part of the $300,000 the order has paid to five New Zealanders claiming they were sexually and physically abused in the 1960s and 1970s.

2002-0622 - NZ Herald - 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 Sydney takes them to the leafy grounds of a private psychiatric hospital. This is where Catholic brothers and priests have been confronting the demons that have troubled them and stirred the entire church.

2002-0620 - The Press - Scandal in the Church
The extent of the contagion of sexual abuse that is sweeping the Catholic Church is shown by Press reports today and yesterday. The first involved a Christchurch man abused in one of the city's clerical schools and has prompted the revelation that more such cases have occurred here. This emphasises the reality that the scandal is far from occurring commonly only in the American and Australian churches, and that it is being poorly handled.

2002-0620 - The Press - Gagging clauses
Letter to the Editor by Phillida Bunkle - I applaud your report (June 19) against the gagging clauses used by the Catholic Church to impose silence when they reach an out-of court settlement over allegations of sexual abuse. In my experience in other cases, these silencing provisions are thrust on victims whose lives are in turmoil from dealing with sexual abuse

2002-0620 - The Press - Five abuse claims paid
by Yvonne Martin - Four Christchurch brothers from a troubled Catholic order have had sexual and physical abuse claims made against them, for which the church has paid out $300,000 in secret deals. It has now emerged that the St John of God Order, which is under siege on both sides of the Tasman, has made payouts to five New Zealand complainants

2002-0620 - One News - Abuse victims urged to speak out
The Catholic church is urging men who believe they were abused by brothers of the Order of the St John of God in Christchurch to approach the church or the police. Five New Zealanders have already been paid thousands of dollars in compensation, along with many others in Australia. Now, the St John of God order is urging other victims of abuse to come forward

2002-0620 - Dominion - Sex abuse: $300,000 paid out in secret deals
NZPA - Four Christchurch members of a troubled Catholic order have had sexual and physical abuse claims made against them, for which the church has paid out $300,000 in secret deals.

2002-0619 - Waikato Times - Sex abuse secret aired
NZPA - A Catholic religious order buried a potential child sex abuse scandal by secretly paying a Christchurch man $30,000, The Press newspaper revealed yesterday. The 1999 payout followed abuse allegations against a Catholic brother who taught boys with learning disabilities at a Christchurch residential school, Marylands

2002-0619 - The Press - Getting rid of secret agreements
by Matt Conway - A secret deal between the Catholic Church and a Christchurch abuse victim has provoked outrage. Yvonne Martin and Matt Conway report.
A Christchurch trust for sexually abused men has slammed a secret Church deal with an abuse victim as a Catholic cover-up. Ken Clearwater, who manages the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, said the Church's agreement, with strict confidentiality clauses, was aimed at protecting its own interests

2002-0619 - The Press - Gagged by the Church
by Yvonne Martin - A Catholic religious order buried a potential child sex-abuse scandal by secretly paying a Christchurch man $30,000. The 1999 payout followed abuse allegations against a Catholic brother who taught boys with learning disabilities at a Christchurch residential school, Marylands.

2002-0619 - Evening Post - Catholic Church paid $30,000 to gag sex victim
A Catholic religious order buried a potential child sex-abuse scandal by secretly paying a Christchurch man $30,000, The Press newspaper revealed yesterday. The 1999 pay-out followed abuse allegations against a Catholic brother who taught boys with learning disabilities at a Christchurch residential school, Marylands. The complainant, now 51, said the Church bought his silence when it learned of his schoolboy ordeal.

2002-0619 - Dominion - Man says Church paid him to keep quiet
NZPA - A Catholic religious order buried a potential child sex-abuse scandal by secretly paying a Christchurch man $30,000. The 1999 payout came after abuse allegations against a brother who taught boys with learning disabilities at Marylands residential school in Christchurch. The complainant, now 51, said the Church bought his silence when it learnt of his ordeal.

2002-0617 - NZ Herald - Bishops slow to censure
Editorial - It has taken the Catholic Church an unconscionable time to respond properly to the problem of paedophile priests. Hush money was offered and cover-ups attempted but these actions could not eradicate the scandal.

2002-0606 - The Press - Cathedral safe for children - Dean
by Tara Ross - Christchurch Cathedral has done all it can to ensure its young people are protected from sexual abuse, says Dean John Bluck. For the last two years the cathedral has had in place procedures and guidelines for protecting children and young people, and child protection officers have been appointed in each parish to monitor them.

2002-0606 - The Press - Anglicans seek abuse victims
NZPA - An Anglican church trust that owned a foster home where three children suffered sexual abuse has attempted to track down other children who might also have been abused. The Anglican Trust For Women and Children paid $75,000 compensation to a woman who was sexually abused by Ramon Doughty, who ran Blackwood House in Herne Bay 30 years ago.

2002-0606 - NZ Herald - Trust hunts for more abuse victims
by Gregg Wycherley - More children than previously thought may have been sexually abused at an Anglican Church trust foster home. The Anglican Trust For Women & Children said yesterday that it was trying to track other children who may have been abused 30 years ago at Blackwood House in Herne Bay.Three children are known to have been sexually abused and the trust has paid $75,000 compensation to one.

2002-0606 - Dominion - Trust tries to find other abuse victims
An Anglican church trust that owned a foster home where three children suffered sexual abuse is trying to track down other children who might also have been abused. The Anglican Trust for Women and Children is believed to have paid $75,000 compensation to a woman who was sexually abused by Ramon Doughty, who ran Blackwood House in Herne Bay, Auckland, 30 years ago.