Photo / Rebekah Parsons-King - RNZ
By RNZ
The Catholic Church in New Zealand says 1680 reports of abuse were made to it between 1950 and 2021.
These reports were made by 1122 individuals against clergy, brothers, nuns, sisters and lay people.
The church said 592 alleged abusers were named and almost half of the reported abuse was sexual.
It said three-quarters of the abuse occurred before 1990, with the majority in the 1960s and 70s.
St John of God - allegations made against 22 brothers, or 52 per cent of the 42 that served in New Zealand from 1950. Sisters of Nazareth, 29 sisters, or 34 per cent of the 86 who served. Diocese of Christchurch, 34 priests or 19 per cent of the 179 who served. Diocese of Dunedin, 26 priests or 18 per cent. and Good Shepherds Sisters, 20 sisters or 18 per cent.
Recently published research found most of the abuse alleged against priests and brothers was for sexual harm of children, while allegations against sisters and nuns was for non-sexual harm, which may include physical, emotional or psychological abuse and/or neglect.
The information published was based on records of abuse made to the church up to June 30, 2021.
Te Rōpū Tautoko represents the country's six Catholic dioceses and over 40 Catholic religious congregations (also known as religious institutes, orders or associations).
The research includes records of 428 Catholic parishes, 370 Catholic schools and 67 other care institutions.
Te Rōpū Tautoko chairwoman Catherine Fyfe hoped the church would look behind the statistics and ask how and why the abuse occurred.
"Most importantly, we must ensure that people are safe in the care of the Catholic Church today and that survivors are supported when they come forward. We recognise the Church's continuing efforts to eliminate abuse through safeguarding efforts and making redress for the past."
New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference president and a Te Rōpū Tautoko member, Cardinal John Dew, said the church acknowledged there were significant barriers to people coming forward to disclose abuse.
''While much work has been done to overcome this, and people have come forward, we are committed to doing all we can to reduce currently existing barriers and ensure survivors are supported as they share their traumatic experiences."
Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa New Zealand president Father Thomas Rouse said various factors allowed abuse to occur in Catholic institutions.
"The factors that we are addressing most strongly today are the improved formation of candidates for priesthood and religious life as well as best-practice safeguarding protocols for all involved in Catholic ministry."
The Network of Survivors of Abuse in Faith-Based Institutions said the breakdown of figures from the Catholic Church provided no surprises and merely confirmed what it knew from survivors, that the Catholic Church harboured perpetrators of abuse who caused harm to significant numbers of children and vulnerable adults.
Spokeswoman Liz Tonks said what survivors needed to see was not a commentary of the figures but a statement of the specific action the church was taking as a result.
''What we know and what the church itself states - the figures are not an accurate reflection of the abuse that has occurred within this church or within its church entities. They only reflect the number of survivors that reported their abuse in the church and only those that the church kept a record of.''
Tonks said the church's failure to keep records highlighted a significant issue for survivors.
''Not only has it allowed institutions like the church to deny and coverup the extent of the abuse that has occurred, it also denies survivors the information they need to support their claims and to begin to make sense of how and why the abuse happened. Most importantly, without records institutions cannot be held accountable. We have found this is particularly the case where abuse has happened in Catholic schools.
''While we know that many survivors never report the abuse they suffered. To report and have the support they deserve and need, they are forced to report to the institution where they were abused and they could not trust to care for them and keep them safe as a child or vulnerable adults."
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