“Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another”
– Henry Nouwen
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…
A man who suffered horrific sexual abuse at two Dunedin schools says an independent body should be established to investigate church abuse cases. The man, named only as Marc, presented his evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Teacher Edwin John Downing is on trial at the High Court in Auckland. He has denied 13 charges, including sexual violation, sexual conduct with a young person and sexually grooming a young person. The police interview of one of the…
