Survivors Network
Irish Jesuits name sex offenders
There is no policy
"We will continue to listen, consult, be open to criticism from people, including lay people, who are strong enough to give us honest, robust, reasonable, evidence-based feedback."
Brian McCoy SJ, former Jesuit Provincial. Media Release 17 December 2018
Section 15 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) provides:
Every person has the right to hold an opinion without interference.
Every person has the right to freedom of expression which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, whether within or outside Victoria and whether-
(a) orally; or (b) in writing; or (c) in print; or (d) by way of art; or (e) in another medium chosen by him or her.
A note about contracts and deeds.
A Deed of Settlement and Release is a contract and comes under the law regarding contracts.
If you enter one you should read the words very very carefully.
A missing word or an added word or even a comma can make a big difference to what it means.
If you are asked by the other side to amend a contract it usually means they have made an error of omission, it doesn't achieve everything they wanted.
Its up to you if you want to agree to amend the contract but you should ask for compensation if you do.
Maybe the amendment would affect you so badly you would ask for $1 million to agree to it.
A trifling example: You paint your front fence bright pink, your neighbour objects and says that's awful, you say ok how about forest green? He says ok. You have a verbal contract. You paint your fence forest green and fulfil the terms of the contract.
But next week you don't like the colour and paint it bright pink again. Your neighbour complains. You say but I fulfilled the terms of our contract, you didn't say 'permanently' change the colour.
He might have "intended" that it be a permanent change but he didn't say that in the contract.
That's where a single word can make a huge difference.
Simon Davies, Director of Professional Standards
Preferred survivor status
A Deed of Settlement and Release is a contract and comes under the law regarding contracts.
If you enter one you should read the words very very carefully.
A missing word or an added word or even a comma can make a big difference to what it means.
If you are asked by the other side to amend a contract it usually means they have made an error of omission, it doesn't achieve everything they wanted.
Its up to you if you want to agree to amend the contract but you should ask for compensation if you do.
Maybe the amendment would affect you so badly you would ask for $1 million to agree to it.
A trifling example: You paint your front fence bright pink, your neighbour objects and says that's awful, you say ok how about forest green? He says ok. You have a verbal contract. You paint your fence forest green and fulfil the terms of the contract.
But next week you don't like the colour and paint it bright pink again. Your neighbour complains. You say but I fulfilled the terms of our contract, you didn't say 'permanently' change the colour.
He might have "intended" that it be a permanent change but he didn't say that in the contract.
That's where a single word can make a huge difference.
The Men of God protect their temporal empire.
Simon Davies, Director of Professional Standards
Preferred survivor status
Message of support from a survivor.
Hi Mark,
Hang in there and stay strong. All you can do is what you think is the best thing for you.
You have done a fantastic job over the past 5 years with your website holding them to account and letting other survivors know that they were not the only one, and that there were many abusers in the Order.
Keep fighting for your child self who had no one to protect him.
Kind regards,
______________________________
Very strangely, a barrister for the Jesuits said that this website was harming survivors by showing how hard it is to get justice and that would make them reluctant to seek compensation.
Hi Mark,
Hang in there and stay strong. All you can do is what you think is the best thing for you.
You have done a fantastic job over the past 5 years with your website holding them to account and letting other survivors know that they were not the only one, and that there were many abusers in the Order.
Keep fighting for your child self who had no one to protect him.
Kind regards,
______________________________
Very strangely, a barrister for the Jesuits said that this website was harming survivors by showing how hard it is to get justice and that would make them reluctant to seek compensation.
More messages:
"And so the abuse continues.
Emotional abuse if the worst kind.
Continuing their display of power.
There really is a special place in hell for these people"
"It’s reabuse
Patent reabuse of the adult survivor
No admissions
No apology
No remorse
Invoking and evoking terror in the claimant
That terror, I contend, was a major contributing factor in the completed suicide of our friend Jesuit victim (name redacted)
Actively silencing victims and terrifying them is reabusive and dangerously destructive
Whereas, justice has therapeutic effect."
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
(Dylan Thomas)
"And so the abuse continues.
Emotional abuse if the worst kind.
Continuing their display of power.
There really is a special place in hell for these people"
"It’s reabuse
Patent reabuse of the adult survivor
No admissions
No apology
No remorse
Invoking and evoking terror in the claimant
That terror, I contend, was a major contributing factor in the completed suicide of our friend Jesuit victim (name redacted)
Actively silencing victims and terrifying them is reabusive and dangerously destructive
Whereas, justice has therapeutic effect."
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
(Dylan Thomas)
In their own words
Xavier College grapples with historical sex abuse claimsJanuary 26, 2020
Staff inside the church division, which is led by former Australian Federal Police officer Simon Davies, say they take a survivor-led approach, which means they are unlikely to take any action against the website administrators.
The administrators of the website argue that the school’s approach lacks the transparency needed to prompt survivors to step forward with their complaints. They say that many survivors often suffer in isolation and have no idea their abusers also preyed on other students.
It is understood some Jesuits have had contact with the Xavier old boys who run the website,
but have stopped short of telling them how to run it, or to pull it down, as part of an approach to let survivors respond how they want.
♦ www.theage.com.au
"...there are serious matters warranting resolution.
It may be reasonably expected that the Society is or will be conducting further investigations into these matters. In my view, it is highly desirable that it do so."
It may be reasonably expected that the Society is or will be conducting further investigations into these matters. In my view, it is highly desirable that it do so."
"The Society has made further inquiries with Xavier's archivist who has confirmed
that there are no records relating to any students prior to 1980
(other than being able to confirm a student attended the School)
as they were all destroyed for the purpose of saving space. "
Marilyn Warren, Victor Higgs investigation.
"As Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Australia, I am committed to facing the truth about the abuse of children
and young people that has occurred in our past and the terrible effects it has had on their adult lives."
Brian McCoy SJ, Provincial 2015 - 2020 What do you say to the survivors of abuse?
We deeply regret the pain and suffering that has been caused by a number of our community.
Words will never heal the suffering, but we unreservedly apologise for the trauma caused by any
member of our Society who betrayed others in this way. We are committed to doing all we
can to prevent any further incidents and will continue to offer support for survivors and their families.
Words will never heal the suffering, but we unreservedly apologise for the trauma caused by any
member of our Society who betrayed others in this way. We are committed to doing all we
can to prevent any further incidents and will continue to offer support for survivors and their families.
Will you accept the Royal Commission’s recommendations?
We are likely to accept all the Royal Commission’s recommendations unless any of them conflict with
Canon or Jesuit Law (which is unlikely) and we urge all Australian Governments to accept and implement all of the recommendations also.
Canon or Jesuit Law (which is unlikely) and we urge all Australian Governments to accept and implement all of the recommendations also.
Why have you failed to deal with child abusers in the past?
Clearly mistakes have been made in the past which have caused great suffering.
For that, we give our unreserved apology to the survivors and their families.
We don’t believe there was an intentional systemic failure but we clearly failed to protect children and young people.
We can’t change the past, but we can do everything possible to maintain a safe environment now and into the future.
The measures we have announced today are important steps in this ongoing journey.
For that, we give our unreserved apology to the survivors and their families.
We don’t believe there was an intentional systemic failure but we clearly failed to protect children and young people.
We can’t change the past, but we can do everything possible to maintain a safe environment now and into the future.
The measures we have announced today are important steps in this ongoing journey.
Brian McCoy SJ, Provincial 2015 - 2020
February 20, 2019
“we commit ourselves to help eliminate abuses inside and outside the Church, seeking to ensure that victims
are heard and properly helped, that justice is done, and that harm is healed.”
are heard and properly helped, that justice is done, and that harm is healed.”
Arturo Sosa, SJ, the superior general of the Society of Jesus
Professor Stephen Smallbone is also a member of the Society of Jesus Consultative Panel.
In the Tasmanian inquiry Professor Smallbone found the Department of Education's response was "to ignore students, shield abusers and protect itself from legal, financial and reputational risks " .....
There are major identified deficiencies in how allegations of sexual abuse in public schools are recorded and handled to this day."
Professor Smallbone advised former Jesuit Provincial Brian McCoy s.j. that it would be a "denial of natural justice" to publish the names of alleged sex offenders.
"We are committed to owning the past"
William Doherty, Xavier College Principal
"The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all."
George Pell" Let’s speak truth to power. Let’s enact justice where there is oppression. "
Bill Uren SJ
"The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced.
But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it,
or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity."
...We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.
Pope Francis, Vatican City, Aug. 20, 2018
...We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.
"In his letter of October 7, 2015 our Provincial, Fr Brian McCoy SJ, himself an old boy of Xavier,
committed the Australian Province in this Year of Mercy, to ongoing support of those “who have been wounded, felt rejected or abused in any of our works."
"The Province does not believe that the complaints made against Fr Stephenson have been substantiated, but nor has it dismissed the allegations as being wrong. It believes that, on the available evidence, there is room for genuine misunderstanding as to his intentions, as is explicitly acknowledged by one complainant. "
"The Province does not believe that the complaints made against Fr Stephenson have been substantiated, but nor has it dismissed the allegations as being wrong. It believes that, on the available evidence, there is room for genuine misunderstanding as to his intentions, as is explicitly acknowledged by one complainant. "
Chris Middleton SJ, Xavier College Rector
"I had been exposed to the human condition as a policeman and witnessed extreme depravity.
However, I had not witnessed this moral corruption in the context of a faith organisation that proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
This was at odds with my childhood experiences growing up in the church and has taken me a long time to reconcile."
However, I had not witnessed this moral corruption in the context of a faith organisation that proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
This was at odds with my childhood experiences growing up in the church and has taken me a long time to reconcile."
Simon Davies, Society of Jesus Director of Professional Standards
"For many, this is a difficult and painful matter, but is one that we must own and be proactive in responding to for it is inextricably
entwined with the care of all Xaverians and is central to our mission and values."
From the press release letter to Old Xaverians. Signed by William Doherty, Chris Middleton SJ (Rector) and Tony Nunan (Chair of Board)
Sept. 26, 2023
Tasmanian commission of inquiry report into institutional child sexual abuse
5.3 Effects of institutional responses
How an institution responds to a child or young person who discloses abuse can either compound the distress and trauma they experience, or it can contribute to their healing and sense of justice.
Inappropriate responses—including disbelief, hostility, or non- supportive and dismissive responses—can compound the negative effects of abuse and retraumatise a victim-survivor
...adopting an adversarial, delayed or overcomplicated approach to redressing the abuse—further compound the trauma of the abuse for victim- survivors.
'Institutional betrayal' describes the experience of a victim-survivor who is harmed
by a trusted and powerful institution on which they depend for their security and wellbeing.
Institutional betrayal can refer to the failure of an institution to provide a safe environment for a victim-survivor, therefore putting that person at risk.
It also refers to institutions that do not act once a disclosure of abuse is made, which can result in the continuation of abuse of the victim-survivor or other children.199 We identified
a sense of institutional betrayal in many of the victim-survivors and staff in the out of home care system, youth detention, schools and hospitals.
Victim-survivors reported to the National Royal Commission and to our Inquiry that being silenced or disbelieved after disclosure, punished, blamed for the abuse, or accused of lying, resulted in intense feelings of injustice, anger and shame.
Victim-survivors reported to us that poor institutional responses to their disclosures
of abuse had adversely affected their capacity to work, participate in society and to trust or engage with institutions in general.
The complaints policy and procedure should be published on the Department’s website.
"We will continue to listen, consult, be open to criticism from people, including lay people, who are strong enough to give us honest, robust, reasonable, evidence-based feedback."
Brian McCoy SJ, former Jesuit provincial. MEDIA RELEASE 17 December 2018
The revelations never end about priests and brothers, of monsignors and bishops with their secret sexual lives, masturbating, buggerizing, sodomizing and raping boys and girls – protected by an amoral hierarchy and a few corrupt members of the upper-echelons of various police forces.
Chris Geraghty (former priest and NSW Judge)
Betrayal Trauma
Betrayal Trauma: The phrase "betrayal trauma" can be used to refer to a kind of trauma independent of the reaction to the trauma.
From Freyd (2008): Betrayal trauma occurs when the people or institutions on which a person depends for survival significantly violate that person’ s trust or well-being: Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver are examples of betrayal trauma.
Betrayal Trauma Theory: From Sivers, Schooler, & Freyd (2002): A theory that predicts that the degree to which a negative event represents a betrayal by a trusted needed other will influence the way in which that events is processed and remembered.
♦ dynamic.uoregon.edu
