Catholic Church leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have refused to fully disclose an independent report on how they have handled abuse complaints.

Survivors of abuse by Catholic priests say the Church’s refusal to release the independent GCPS assessment report into its complaints process is another coverup.

Earlier this year, at the request of survivors of child sexual assault by Catholic priests in New Zealand, senior clerics of the New Zealand Catholic Church, Bishop Stephen Lowe and Rev. Thomas Rouse, committed to having the Church’s complaints process and compliance with policy independently assessed.

In late July this year, the GCPS assessment report called Te Aromatawai mo nga Paerewa Tiaki Tikanga, An Assessment of the Implementation of the Safeguarding Culture Standards of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand, was given to the church group Te Rōpū Tautoko which coordinated the New Zealand Catholic Church’s response to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry.

A summary of the report published on Te Rōpū Tautoko’s website last month revealed serious deficiencies within the Church’s handling of complaints. The deficiencies included the failure of the Church’s Professional Standards Office (NOPS) to adhere to the principles of its complaints protocol “A Path to Healing.”

However, while the Summary stated, “the assessment identified some evidence to support this,” no evidence was provided in that Summary.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is concerned that the Summary also does not indicate how many complaints were denied or upheld. “The fact that many abuse complaints are denied without proper investigations is the very reason why so many complainants reach out to SNAP for support,” said Dr. Christopher Longhurst, National Leader of SNAP's New Zealand chapter.

SNAP requested a copy of the full report with appropriate redactions which they believe the bishops and congregational leaders have an ethical duty to disclose. However, Lowe and Rouse refused to disclose it. Instead, they responded stating, “The summary reports substantially on all aspects of the review.”

But survivors disagree. “A summary which is simply a synopsis does not disclose data findings such as percentages of complaints denied or upheld, or the metadata, or the waiting time to resolve complaints,” explained Dr. Longhurst. “Nor does it provide supporting evidence or reasons that gave rise to the findings,” Longhurst added.

Instead, the bishops put out their own media release praising their reform processes (unspecified) in preventing abuse.

SNAP believes this is yet another failure of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops and Congregational Leaders to honour their public commitment to openness and transparency in how they respond to abuse.

“We challenge the leaders of the New Zealand Catholic Church to practise what they preach, to stop concealing vital information about abuse, and be fully open and transparent on their administrative procedures handling complaints, and release the full GCPS report for public scrutiny,” said Donald McLeish, a Trustee for SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand.

© Scoop Media