Archbishops in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia respond to report on abuse in state and faith-based care
[Anglican Taonga] The archbishops of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia have responded to the July 24 release of the report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care, saying it must be a catalyst for great change.
Archbishops Don Tamihere, Justin Duckworth and Sione Ulu’ilakepa said, in part, “We acknowledge and take full responsibility for our failures to provide the safe, caring and nurturing environment those who have been in our care had a right to expect and to receive. There have been clear failures to properly investigate and respond when abuse was reported. We acknowledge that we have not provided accessible, straightforward processes for the handling of disclosures and complaints of abuse. We have also failed to provide accessible, trustworthy and consistent processes of redress.”
The report noted the commission had begun with the assumption that abuse should be understood as “physical, sexual, and emotional or psychological abuse and neglect,” but after speaking with survivors they identified “abuse and neglect with distinctive characteristics that have not yet been explicitly acknowledged by the state, including cultural, religious, spiritual, medical, educational and financial.”
The archbishops also asked all Anglicans “to commit themselves to the principles and practices that ensure the highest standards of care” and to hold the survivors of abuse in their hearts and prayers.
Read the entire article here.
