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World National |
NZ Catholic Church Confirms 38 Sex Abuse CasesWELLINGTON (Reuters) - The Catholic Church in New Zealand said on Saturday it had confirmed 38 cases of sexual abuse in its ranks going back over several decades. "There are offences going over a period of 50 years...right back to the '50s and it's not 38 individual offenders because there are, in some cases, two or three complaints about one person," Lyndsay Freer, spokeswoman for the Catholic Church in New Zealand, said.
City of Wellington "The bishops have on many occasions expressed their sadness, well, their deep shock and regret about these things on different occasions when these things have actually happened," she said. The revelations are part of a widening scandal that has shaken the Catholic Church globally, costing clergy their jobs in the United States, Poland, Ireland, Canada and Australia. The New Zealand Herald reported that the New Zealand cases included complaints against priests, brothers and lay members of the church in positions of authority. The largest order of priests in New Zealand, the Society of Mary, has paid $54,835 to five people who made accusations against three priests -- none of whom remain in the order, the newspaper said. The vice-provincial of the Society of Mary, Father Tim Duckworth, was quoted saying the past practice of moving abusers to other parishes or schools was wrong. "I unreservedly apologize on behalf of brother priests...for the hurt that has been done by some few of our number," he said. "Even one hurt person is too many." Offenders are now sent for treatment in Australia and removed from public ministry upon their return, the church said. |
