As a response to Recommendation 130 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care which called for government and faith-based institutions to publish their responses as to whether they accept the Inquiry’s findings we respond on behalf of Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, as follows:
Acknowledgement of Findings of Fault Against the Anglican Church
We acknowledge all the findings of fault against the Anglican Church which are recorded in Section 7 Chapter 12 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s report Whanaketia – Whakairihia ki te tihi o Maungārongo – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light:
i. the failures of those within the Church who were meant to protect and care for people in their care.
ii. abuse and neglect in the care of the Church.
iii. abuse and neglect that included sexual abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse and emotional abuse and neglect.
iv. perpetuating societal attitudes in its institutions, like corporal punishment, normalised bullying in schools, and suppressing Māori and Pacific Peoples’ culture.
v. failing to implement institutional monitoring, leaving the responsibility of management up to individual leaders.
vi. failing to implement an overarching Church policy or process to guide the handling of complaints of abuse, including record-keeping.
vii. leaving allegations and complaints of abuse to be handled by those who knew the alleged abusers well, with some unwilling to accept a fellow clergy member could be an abuser.
viii. abuse that was ignored or covered up within the Church, which failed to protect people in care and failed to hold abusers to account.
ix. perpetrators of abuse who were protected by the sanctity of their role within Anglican institutions.
x. failing to believe the survivor when they first came forward, instead survivors were often deemed untrustworthy or deceitful.
xi. survivors having to live with the consequences of the trauma they suffered for decades.
xii. the families of survivors having to carry the long-term consequences of abuse and neglect.
xiii. the role of patriarchy within the Church in failing to listen and respond to issues of abuse and neglect.
xiv. being too trusting of individuals within the Church, which contributed to the Church’s failure to address its mistakes sooner.
We acknowledge and take full responsibility on behalf of the Church for these failures, failures that those who have been in our care had a right to expect never to have occurred.
Our apology before the Royal Commission to survivors of abuse was heartfelt and genuine and we have the deepest respect for their courage and endurance. We again encourage any other survivors of abuse who have not yet come forward to do so by contacting contact@anglicanredress.nz
We are working hard to pursue transformation of our church culture and to adopt new practices and policies which the survivors of abuse have every right to expect of us so that these findings are wholeheartedly and fully addressed.
Archbishop Don Tamihere
Archbishop Justin Duckworth
Archbishop Sione Ulu’ilakepa