Catholic Church Leaders Welcome Inclusion in Royal Commission

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and Catholic Religious orders have welcomed the inclusion of faith-based institutions in New Zealand’s Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care.

The Catholic Church sought to be included in the Royal Commission. Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference says, “The view we expressed during the consultation was that it would be wrong if some individuals were excluded from the Inquiry simply because their path of referral to an institution was different from someone else’s. We reaffirm our support and our desire to learn from this national undertaking which we are confident will contribute positively to the strengthening and safeguarding of our families, communities and society.”

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference – Te Huinga o ngā Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa (NZCBC) and the Congregational Leaders’ Conference Aotearoa New Zealand (CLCANZ) have appointed a new group to ensure that the Catholic Church provides a co-ordinated and co-operative response to the Commission from all the many dioceses, congregations and institutions of the Church in this country.  The new group is called Te Rōpū Tautoko.

Chair of the support group, Te Rōpū Tautoko, Catherine Fyfe said, “The way that lessons are learnt for today and the future is to examine, understand, acknowledge and address what has occurred. We will collectively work towards healing. To do that, we will support the Royal Commission with the information they need.  We will review the Terms of Reference and look forward to working with the Commission as it progresses the next steps in this process.”