Net widens to catch priests who preyed

The royal commission into historic abuse will include the actions of predator priests who targeted children in family homes, on day trips and in other out-of-church settings.

The inclusion, confirmed yesterday, has been praised by survivors advocate Liz Tonks and the Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, the Most Rev Michael Dooley.

Tonks, speaking for the Network of Survivors of Abuse in Faith-based Institutions and their Supporters, expressed delight at the news.

“We are really pleased the commission has listened to survivors and their supporters and the network and been prepared to consider the need to change,” she said.

“Survivors have been anxiously waiting for reassurance that their inclusion is not dependent on where the abuse took place.

“This is what they were asking for.” Dooley was also positive about the clarification of the inquiry’s scope, saying it would help encourage survivors to come forward.

A two-page “plain English” version of the terms of reference for the royal commission was published on the inquiry’s website yesterday.

The inquiry was initially to focus on abuse in state care, but a campaign by survivors and advocates saw the Government announce an expanded inquiry, including faith-based settings, in November.

However, advocates worried the terms of reference, which focused on those abused while “in the care of” faith-based institutions, could still see many survivors excluded.

They worried “in the care of” would exclude the actions of a paedophile priest like Father Magnus Murray, convicted of abusing four Dunedin boys in family homes, the presbytery and on trips.

The documents published yesterday made it clear the royal commission will go further, examining any situation where the state or a faith-based institution “took responsibility for looking after a person”.

That meant religious schools, orphanages and other church settings would all be covered, it said.

And so, too, would other examples — like a priest offending against a child in a church setting, on a day trip or while visiting a family home.

All were now considered to be within the scope of the inquiry, a royal commission spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.

The inquiry would focus on abuse between 1950 and 1999, but may also consider events before or after those dates, including those in care now.

Tonks said her group would push for the cut-off dates to be dropped. That was “essential” to ensure the commission had all the information it needed.