Statement: 8 April 2020
On hearing the outcome of the appeal by Cardinal Pell, our first concern is for the further trauma to the victim/survivors of his abuse. Let’s be clear. The court did not state Pell is innocent. Pell fought his charges and managed a technical result.
The further trauma to survivors who bravely came forward and the resultant silencing of other survivors of abuse by the clergy and religious in the catholic church is potentially the real damage.
We have been encouraging survivors to break their silence and come forward and report to our NZ Royal Commission. What they see is the catholic church in Australia, who shared their abusers with NZ, making it clear they have learnt nothing from the abuse that was exposed in their institutions by the Australian Royal Commission and have continued to fight against implementing its recommendations to prevent abuse.
Despite the Australian Church continuing to make statements like “We remain committed to doing everything we can to bring healing to those who have suffered greatly and to ensuring that Catholic settings are the safest possible places for all people, but especially for children and vulnerable adults.” their actions do not show this. They continue to fight the recommendations of the Australian Royal Commission and to provide no transparency around their position on those recommendations that they took to the Vatican.
Our worry is that with the outcome of the Pell case the church will now be under no pressure to make those changes, will carry on as usual – using their financial and political power to protect the perpetrators in their ranks, deny the abuse that happens, and disregard the trauma and loss of lives of survivors.
However, this decision is already bringing the collective anger and frustration of survivors together in a renewed determination to fight to be heard, believed and have the abuse stop. Together with the obvious support of many in the public and media, and the release of the un-redacted Report of the Australian Royal Commission with regard to Pell’s involvement in Ballarat and the Churches failure to respond, we are hopeful this will lead to survivors of catholic church abuse having the justice they deserve.
Tauākī: 8 Paenga whāwhā 2020
Ki te rongo i nga hua o te pira, i Katinara Pell, ko to matou māharahara tuatahi ko te tūroro ki te parurenga/mōrehu o tana mahi tūkino. I mua i tō whakaū. Kaore te kōti i te Pell i te harakore. Pell te whawhai i ōna utu, ka whakahaere i tētahi hua hangarau.
Ko te tūroro anō o te mōrehu i haere mai ai a pakanga i muri i a ia, i te resultant set of silencing o ētahi atu mōrehu o te hunga e noho ana i te taha o te minita, o te rōpū i te whare o te hahi.
Kua encouraging mōrehu ki te kokoti i o rātau puku, ka haere whakamua me te rīpoata ki to mātau TARI. He aha ratou i kite ai i te hahi katorika i Ahitereiria, i tiria e ia o ratou abusers ki a AOTEAROA, me hanga e ratou he ako ki kahore i te hunga e tu ana i roto i o ratou mārakerake, i te taha o te Whakanōhanga Kingi, i te taha ki te whawhai ki te mahi i nga mea e kino ana.
Ahakoa te Hahi Ahitereiria kia haere tonu ngā tauākī kia rite ki te “e toe ana ki te mahi i ngā mea katoa e taea e mātou te kawe atu ki te whakaora i te mea nui, ki te konei hoki i ngā tautuhinga Katorika ka taea te whakaatu i te mea e whakaaturia ana e te tangata katoa. E haere tonu ana ratou ki te whawhai i nga mea o te Ahitereiria, o te Komihana Kingi, kia kaua e hoatu i to ratou tūnga ki nga mea e mau ana i a ratou ki te Tāonenui.
Ko to matou māharahara ko nga hua o te Pell, ko te whare karakia kei raro i te mea e kore e taea te tuku i aua huringa, ka anga ki te aua-mā te whakamahi i a ratou mahi, i te kaha hoki o te tangata e noho ana i te perpetrators.
Heoi anō, kei te mau kē tēnei whakatau i te riri kākano, i te frustration o nga mōrehu i roto i a ia e rongo ana ki te whawhai, e whakapono ana, kua mutu te hunga tūkino. Me te tautoko nawe o te maha o te iwi, o te pāpāho, me te whakaputa o te Pūrongo redacted i te taha o te whare o te whare o te Ahitereiria Kingi o te uruuru, o nga Hahi, i te mea kua oti te whakahoki atu ki te Ballarat i te taha o te whare karakia e noho ana i te tika.