The shocking testimonies of 2,300 survivors of childhood physical, psychological and sexual abuse — among the 200,000 or so children who suffered such mistreatment in government care centers and church-run orphanages and institutions over the past 70 years — have been released through a New Zealand report that took six years to compile.
The investigative report, called “Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry,” said more than 200,000 vulnerable people, most of them minors from impoverished communities and from the Indigenous Maori and Pacific Island people living in New Zealand, were taken into institutional care by government and religious institutions, where they were suffered torture, rape and sexual assault.
The heads of schools, institutions, bishops and civil authorities denied all reports of abuse and covered it up for years by transferring the abusers to other jobs, schools and parishes. The report found that there was more sexual abuse of children in church-based institutions rather than in state-run care homes.
The foster care system was worse than the institutions, the report said. Foster homes had higher rates of child sexual abuse than faith-based or government institutions, the report said. Few of the torturers and sex offenders were brought to justice because the victims were not believed or ignored.
The church and civil institutions protected these child abusers. They covered the crimes they committed against children. In many churches, including in the Philippines, covering up and denying child abuse is the greater crime of all.
In the Philippines, a recent Unicef report says one in every four children experience abuse or neglect in their lifetime. The country is also a hub of online child sexual abuse. According to Cameleon Philippines, about 7 million children are sexually abused every year in the country. More than 70 percent of sexually abused children are between 10 and 18 years old, and 20 percent are younger than 6.
Is this the way the Philippines wants to be seen and judged by the international community? New Zealand is suffering severe damage to its reputation by the recent revelations of systematic abuse by church and civil authorities. That is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of abuse going on in society, in homes, and in institutions like the church, schools and unsupervised care homes. It is child abuse that is unseen and unheard.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines is campaigning to block a law allowing divorce but is silent about the pandemic of child abuse committed among priests, religious and laypeople. The church in New Zealand and elsewhere have faced up to the shame and clerical crimes against vulnerable children. Besides the few brave Filipino bishops and priests fighting for human rights, most clergy remain silent. Is this the silence of consent or indifference?
The Catholic Church in Guam is facing the painful truth and paying for it. Vatican investigators under orders by Pope Francis learned in 2019 that as many as 220 child abuse victims, Boy Scouts, altar boys and students were sexually abused by at least 35 identified and credibly accused priests, teachers and scoutmasters of the Archdiocese of Agaña. For sure, many more remain undetected.
These investigators from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith also found that former archbishop Anthony Apuron, 73, was guilty of several charges of child sex abuse committed when he was a parish priest. He denied these and appealed the verdict, but the ruling was upheld. He received a severe sentence but will not be charged in court.
The Agaña archdiocese has refused to release the names of the accused priests and is trying to reach out-of-court settlements with the victims. It is likely to cost $115 million and the archdiocese has declared bankruptcy, an Associated Press report said. It has to sell its properties to pay the amount.
This is the main fear for the Philippine church, represented by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) if the clerical child abuse scandal becomes public and victims seek justice. Many priests will go to jail, and big compensation must be paid to the victims.
The Philippine church hierarchy is leading a campaign against a new law allowing divorce but is silent on child abuse because there are many alleged pedophile priests who are active in dioceses. One bishop even called them his “sons.” Many more are hiding in the church-funded Tagaytay resthouse for clerical child abusers. They are hidden away by the bishops from their victims when they should be in jail. The abusers are rightly scared of the millstone that Jesus said should be hung around their necks, and they be thrown into the deep sea (Matthew 18:6) and held accountable before the courts.
Can this writer forget the time when his bishop and 23 fellow clergymen signed an affidavit and letter that testified and gave support to a convicted Australian pedophile accusing me of having falsely accused him? There are too many pedophiles and their protectors and defenders and too few child defenders among the clergy.
The people of God have many great and good, true Christians of all denominations who believe that Jesus of Nazareth taught by word and example and that Christianity is an active way of living and believing that goodness, truth, justice and love of neighbor will overcome evil and corruption in society.
They are the true disciples building society by working together and individually to build a just and loving society. They are the humble washers of feet, servants of the poor and friends of Jesus. They do as He did and have the greatest love of giving their lives in serving the poor, the abused, the downtrodden, and the victims of human rights violations. As Jesus said: “No greater love can anyone have than to give their lives for their friends. I call you my friends, not servants.”
We all need to be “washers of feet” as Jesus was, not robed leaders performing rituals and reveling in pomp and ceremony. Besides, He said in Matthew 18.6: “Whoever accepts a child such as this in my name, accepts me.”
