News & Events

Evidence has revealed that the Marist Brothers knew one of their members was offending against children over decades, but didn’t prevent him from being around children. One of his victims, who asked to be referred to only as James, described his abuser, Brother Giles, as a “monster”. James says he was raped and abused by…

Witnesses at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission have recounted gruelling memories of being abused while in the care of churches. During the week and next week, the Commission is hearing from 25 survivors. The witnesses have agreed to go public with their stories of abuse and how they sought redress from churches. The focus…

A man abused while at a Catholic boarding school in the early 1950s says he is not convinced the church’s approach to dealing with abuse has changed at all. The 81-year old Mr F did not tell anyone of the abuse he suffered for 49-years. On Tuesday he gave evidence to the Royal Commission of…

A former Catholic boarding school student who was abused by a priest says the Catholic Church repeatedly tried to minimise his abuse and deny that it was criminal offending. The former student, now aged 81, was sexually abused by Father Fred Durning in 1953 when he was a 13-year-old student at St Patrick’s College in…

A former Catholic boarding school student who was abused by senior staff says one of them was quietly moved to another school in the South Island without being punished. Patrick Cleary died in July, aged 82, before he could give his statement to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into State Abuse. His daughter Tina Cleary…

Survivors of abuse at the hands of Catholic clergymen have spoken of their shame, trauma and the struggle to get redress from New Zealand church leaders.  The first of 25 witnesses told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care that after making a complaint, she was offered money rather than a meaningful…

A man who was sexually abused as a boy at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream only ever wanted the photographs of his abusers removed from the school’s hall, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has heard. Tina Cleary’s father, Patrick Cleary, was sexually abused by two priests when he was aged 12 at…

A man who was in both faith-based and state care wants the public to wake up to historical abuse and be concerned that it could still be happening. Darryl Smith, 57, first went into care at the age of seven at Marylands School in Christchurch, which was run by the Catholic St John of God…

A group representing survivors of abuse while in faith-based care believes victims could die before there is any satisfactory resolution to their claims against churches. The Network of Survivors of Abuse in Faith-based institutions wants an independent authority set up immediately to deal with claims for redress. Spokesperson Liz Tonks said survivors should not have…

The Catholic Church has lost its bid to keep the identities of perpetrators and those accused of covering up abuse secret at the upcoming Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry hearing. The hearing, beginning on Monday in Auckland, will hear from survivors of historical abuse in faith-based care, and the redress processes that followed.…

The chair of the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, Judge Coral Shaw, today declined all but one of the non-publication applications made by lawyers acting for the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army and the Anglican Church. The applications asked to temporarily keep the names of deceased perpetrators of abuse surpressed. Steve Goodlass from the…