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The Press
March 17, 2003
Church borrows to pay claimants
by Jarrod Booker
Fifty-six
men who allegedly were abused as boys at a Christchurch Catholic residential
school are being offered compensation payments totalling $4 million.
The St John of God Order hopes the payments -- the largest offered by a
religious order in New
The Australasian head of the Order, Brother Peter Burke, said yesterday he had
written to 56 of more than 70 complainants, offering them compensation for the
sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at
The payment offer was made after the 56 participated in a lengthy
"pastoral process" overseen by retired High Court judge Sir Rodney
Gallen.
Brother Burke said the Order had applied to borrow the $4m needed to fund the
compensation payments and was confident it would have the loan approved by the
end of April.
In personalised letters outlining the compensation payments, Brother Burke said
deciding how much to offer each individual complainant was, without doubt, the
hardest decision of his life.
"Meeting with most of you, arranging counselling and access to much-needed
services ... is one thing. But the major issue, the major decision to have to
make has been: how to come up with a monetary value for the damage?
"I hope this will help you pay for things and get on with your life. It is
made in good faith and reflects what the Order truly believes to be fair and
reasonable.
"It may not be full recompense for the pain and suffering you have had over
the years, but is a sincere attempt to make up for what you have lost,"
said Brother Burke, who has made several trips to New Zealand to meet
complainants.
Patrick, a
He had no idea what portion of the $4m he would be offered, but said he was
leaning towards accepting the offer so he could move on with his life.
Patrick, whose real name is withheld, claims he was abused during his time at
Justin Richardson, who claims he was abused at
While money was not the biggest issue for him, he said, it would make a major
difference in his life and the lives of other alleged victims.
"People are getting a little bit sick and tired now. (They) want to get on
with their lives," Mr Richardson said.
"Some people will be a little disappointed, but what price do you put on
somebody's childhood? I've been pleased with the process so far."
Mr Richardson said the most important thing to him was confronting the brothers
who allegedly abused him or ignored the abuse: "There is a lot of anger
there still."
Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust manager Ken Clearwater, who supported 37
of the complainants in their dealings with the Order, said he was aware an
offer had been made to the men, but did not know how much each would receive.
"If it's over $100,000 I think they will accept it and try to use it to
move forward with their lives, but if it's anything less than that I think they
will be disgruntled," Mr Clearwater said. The Church had handled the
process well and with compassion, but no amount of money could compensate for
the pain and suffering the men had gone through.
Brother Burke said: "It will not be the end of our involvement. We have
let these men down in the past. We have no intention of doing so ever
again."
If the complainants accepted the financial settlement, it would not preclude
them from pursuing a criminal case, Brother Burke said.
A small team of
Brother Burke said the Order would offer payments to the other claimants once
they had gone through the pastoral process.
"I know the process has taken some time -- about nine months so far ...
"Not only have the men been incredibly courageous ... the issues they have
raised have shocked me to the core."
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CAPTION:
Letter of recompense: St John of God's Brother Peter Burke has written to 56
claimants with an offer of cash for abuse they received as children. Justin Richardson