Recommendations to faith-based care providers

The Bishop of the Diocese of Christchurch should write to the Provincial of the Oceania Province of the St John of God Brothers seeking:

1. regular notifications of all new reports of abuse and neglect in Aotearoa New Zealand received by the Order of the Brothers of St John of God (subject to complainants’ consent)
2. regular notifications of all requests to reopen or reassess claims involving Aotearoa New Zealand survivors
3. The Order’s response to all such reports and requests. 

All correspondence should be made public together with an explanation of the steps taken in response as soon as possible.

The Bishop of Christchurch, the Provincial of the Oceania Province of the St John of God Brothers and relevant State representatives should meet and agree on what steps they can take, whether separately or together, to ensure all survivors of Marylands School, St Joseph’s Orphanage and Hebron Trust in Ōtautahi Christchurch and their whānau or support networks are made aware of the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme and support options available to them.

All faith‑based entities that provide activities or services of any kind, under the auspices of a particular religious denomination or faith, through which adults have contact with children, young people or adults in care, should comply with the Care Safety Principles (Recommendation 39), the National Care Safety Strategy (Recommendation 40) and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act (Recommendation 45), including care standards, accreditation and vetting. Faith‑based entities in highly regulated sectors, such as schools and out‑of‑home care service providers, should also report their compliance to the religious organisation to which they are affiliated.

All faith‑based entities should adopt the Care Safety Principles (Recommendation 39), the National Care Safety Strategy (Recommendation 40) and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act (Recommendation 45), including care standards, accreditation, and vetting, for each of their affiliated institutions.

All faith‑based entities should drive a consistent approach to the implementation of the Care Safety Principles (Recommendation 39), the National Care Safety Strategy (Recommendation 40) and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act (Recommendation 45), including care standards, accreditation, and vetting, in each of their affiliated institutions.

All faith-based entities should work closely with the independent Care Safe Agency and independent oversight bodies to support the implementation of and compliance with the Care Safety Principles (Recommendation 39), the National Care Safety Strategy (Recommendation 40), and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act (Recommendation 45), including care standards, accreditation, and vetting, in each of their affiliated institutions.

All faith‑based entities should ensure their religious leaders are provided with leadership training both pre- and post‑appointment, including identifying, preventing, and responding to abuse and neglect in care, cultural awareness, and addressing prejudice and all forms of discrimination.

All faith‑based entities should ensure that religious leaders are accountable to an appropriate authority or body, such as a board of management or council, for the decisions they make with respect to preventing and responding to abuse and neglect in care.

All faith‑based entities should ensure that all people in religious or pastoral ministry, including religious leaders, are subject to effective management and oversight and undertake annual performance appraisals.

All faith‑based entities should ensure that all people in religious or pastoral ministry, including religious leaders, have professional supervision with a trained professional or pastoral supervisor who has a degree of independence from the institution within which the person is in ministry.

Each faith‑based entity should have a policy relating to the management of actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may arise in relation to allegations of abuse and neglect in care. The policy should cover all individuals who have a role in responding to complaints of abuse and neglect in care.

Each faith‑based entity should ensure that candidates for religious ministry undertake minimum training on preventing and responding to abuse and neglect in care and related matters, including training that: 

1. equips candidates with an understanding of the Care Safety Principles (Recommendation 39), the National Care Safety Strategy (Recommendation 40), and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act (Recommendation 45), including care standards, accreditation and vetting.
2. educates candidates on:
   1. professional responsibility, boundaries and ethics in ministry.
   2. identifying and preventing abuse and neglect in care.
   3. cultural awareness.
   4. addressing prejudice and all forms of discrimination.
   5. policies regarding appropriate responses to allegations or complaints of abuse and neglect in care, and how to implement these policies.
   6. how to work with children, young people, and adults in care.

Each faith‑based entity should require that all people in religious or pastoral ministry, including religious leaders, undertake regular training on the institution’s safeguarding policies and procedures. They should also be provided with opportunities for external training on best practice approaches to people safety.

Wherever a faith-based entity has children, young people, or adults in its care, they should be provided with age-appropriate prevention education that aims to increase their knowledge of abuse and neglect and build practical skills to assist in strengthening self-protective skills and strategies. Prevention education in religious institutions should specifically address the power and status of people in religious ministry and educate children, young people, and adults in care that no one has a right to invade their privacy and make them feel unsafe.

All faith‑based entities should revise their policies to reduce high barriers to disclosure including through flexibility for disclosures of abuse.

Each faith‑based entity should make provision for family and community involvement by publishing all policies relevant to preventing and responding to abuse and neglect in care on its website, providing opportunities for comment, and seeking periodic feedback about the effectiveness of its approach to preventing and responding to abuse and neglect in care.

All faith‑based entities’ complaint handling policies should require that, upon receiving a complaint of abuse and neglect in care, an initial risk assessment is conducted to identify and minimise any risks to children, young people, and adults in care.

All faith‑based entities’ complaint handling policies should require that, if a complaint of abuse and neglect in care against a person in religious ministry is credible, and there is a risk that person may come into contact with children in the course of their ministry, the person be stood down from ministry while the complaint is investigated.

All faith-based entities should, when deciding whether a complaint of abuse and neglect in care has been substantiated, consider the principles set out by the courts in applicable case law in accordance with the seriousness of the allegation.

All faith-based entities should apply the same standards for investigating complaints of abuse and neglect in care, whether or not the subject of the complaint is a person in religious ministry.

Any person in religious ministry who is the subject of a complaint of abuse and neglect in care which is substantiated on the balance of probabilities, applied flexibly according to the seriousness of the allegation in accordance with the principles set out by the courts in applicable caselaw, or who is convicted of an offence relating to abuse and neglect in care, should be permanently removed from ministry. Members of the Church should be notified of the persons permanent removal from ministry. Faith‑based entities should also take all necessary steps to effectively prohibit the person from in any way holding himself or herself out as being a person with religious authority.

Any person in religious ministry who is convicted of an offence relating to abuse and neglect in care should: 

1. in the case of Catholic priests and religious, be dismissed from the priesthood and / or dispensed from his or her vows as a religious.
2. in the case of Anglican clergy, be deposed from holy orders.
3. in the case of an ordained person in any other religious denomination that has a concept of ordination, holy orders and / or vows, be dismissed, deposed, or otherwise effectively have their religious status removed.

Where a faith‑based entity becomes aware that any person attending any of its religious services or activities is the subject of a substantiated complaint of abuse and neglect in care, or has been convicted of an offence relating to abuse and neglect in care, the faith‑based entity should:

1. assess the level of risk posed to children, young people, and adults in care by that perpetrator’s ongoing involvement in the religious community.
2. take appropriate steps to manage that risk.

Each faith-based entity should consider establishing a national register which records limited but sufficient information to assist affiliated institutions to identify and respond to any risks to children, young people and adults in care that may be posed by people in religious or pastoral ministry.