Case 11 Day 1 Christian Brothers

bron

 

 

 

 “It is time for the Christian Brothers to be made accountable for the rapes, floggings,cruelty, neglect,brutality, child slave labour, inhumane treatment and lack of education of boys in their ‘care’. ”

CLAN will be holding a fortnight of rallies for the two weeks of the Royal Commission
public hearings outside the building, to make the general public aware of the
criminaltreatment of these boys and the legacy of abuse on these men

The rallies will be held each morning Monday 28th April–Friday 9 th May 2014
Outside the WA Industrial Relations Commission, 111 St Georges Tce,Perth, WA
Time: 7:30am

  CLAN is a support, advocacy, research and training network for people who grew up in the 900+ australian orphanages children’s Homes, foster care and other institutions.

 

Former child migrant tells harrowing tale of abuse as royal commission heads to Western Australia

By Jade Macmillan

 

 

  Photo: A group of child migrants sent from Britain to Western Australia. (Supplied)

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will begin two weeks of hearings in Western Australia today.

The focus will be on four institutions run by the Christian Brothers: the Bindoon Farm School, St Mary's Agricultural School, St Vincent's Orphanage Clontarf and Castledare Junior Orphanage.

Joanna Pennglase CLAN

John Hennessey, who migrated to Australia as a child, is one of a number of men set to give evidence.
Mr Hennessey was 10 years old when he was taken from his orphanage in Bristol, England, in the mid-1940s and sent to Western Australia.
He says the commission will open old wounds.
"I remember one day - it was a Sunday - these three Christian Brothers came to the hall and the nuns told us the Brothers are looking for children to go to Australia," he said.
"They said 'You go to Australia - kangaroos will take you to school, there's fruit everywhere'.
We were only little kids and this was music to our ears."

 

'A living hell': hard labour, savage beatings and sexual abuse

Mr Hennessey was among a group of children shipped to Fremantle and then taken to Bindoon, about an hour north of Perth.

"I remember Brother Keaney, he was a big man dressed in his black habit. He said: 'Welcome. We're going to make men of you, we don't want you to be little girls'," he said.

Video: Child abuse Royal Commission to hear from child migrants in Perth (7pm TV News WA)

In those days, we were little kids, we didn't know what paedophilia was.

John Hennessey

"The place was half built. Now you look at it, I can't understand why nobody checked out where we were going."

The boys were forced to help construct the property's Spanish-style buildings with their bare hands.

But Mr Hennessey says hard labour was not the worst of it, with savage beatings and sexual abuse making Bindoon a living hell.

"In those days, we were little kids, we didn't know what paedophilia was," he said.

"You'd go to bed at night time fearing that someone was going to come to your bed and pick you up.

"We used to go to confessions and tell them all sorts of things. And we didn't know that the priest also was a paedophile."

Mr Hennessey was emotional as he recounted a particularly brutal beating he believes caused the stutter he has lived with ever since.

He said he was confronted by Brother Keaney in the dining hall after sneaking into his vineyard and stealing grapes.

"He lashed out with his walking stick, it had a metal bottom to it, and he belted me over the head and what have you," he said.

"Then he stripped me, put me over a chair and nearly flogged me to death.

"Abuse and bullying was just the norm."

'Extreme cases' of abuse to be put forward: commission

The royal commission will spend two weeks in Perth listening to the stories of victims from the four children's homes.

The commission's chief executive, Janette Dines, warned some of the evidence presented would be particularly severe.

"These stories are probably quite well-known to people in Western Australia because the Christian Brothers institutions have been the subject of a number of inquiries," she said.

"Certainly, from what we're aware, the stories of physical and sexual abuse are very confronting, and there will be some quite extreme cases of abuse put before the royal commission."

The Christian Brothers apologised to West Australian victims in the 1990s and reached an out-of-court settlement with some of them.

The stories of physical and sexual abuse are very confronting and there will be some quite extreme cases of abuse put before the royal commission.

Janette Dines, royal commission CEO

Ms Dines said the Perth hearings would look at that response, as well as the way the State Government handled complaints and compensation claims.

"This is the first time that the commission has really specifically gone into redress," she said.

"It can do so very effectively through this case study because there are so many different schemes featured.

The body set up by the Catholic Church to respond to the commission says it is expecting horrific stories of abuse and has called for full transparency.

"It's incumbent on the Christian Brothers to come forward again and explain themselves, to make sure the truth is revealed and demonstrate to the community the sincerity they hold for the victims," said Francis Sullivan, the chief executive of the Truth Justice and Healing Council.

"Whether it's the Christian Brothers or the State Government or any other element in how this was handled - how the legal, civil actions were handled - it all needs to be revealed."

Mother told child had died at birth

Mr Hennessey campaigned for the royal commission and says it is important for victims like himself to come forward.

He was reunited with his mother when he was 57 and spent six years with her before she died.

"She'd been told I died at birth," he said.

"I never told her of my childhood days because I thought it was enough what she went through and it would break her heart.

"I'm doing this for my mother. If I can only save one child from what I went through, it's all worthwhile.

"We will be washed clean but forever tortured. There's no way out of that one."

 The public hearing will focus on the cruelty and the crimes committed by the Christian Brothers to young boys in the Castledare Junior Orphanage, Clontarf Orphanage, St Mary’s Agricultural School in Tardun and Bindoon Farm School/Bindoon Boystown.

Wenn ich einmal der Herr-got wär

bron

"Hail Mary, full of grace, let the chickens have a race"

Na 10 jaar : Godwin Scerri en Charles Pulis hoger beroep verloren en, het zoveelste, schunnig commentaar

November 13, 2012

Two former priests yesterday sat impassively as an appeals court judge confirmed a magistrate’s decision to send them to jail for sexual abuse crimes committed against children in their care.

Godwin Scerri, 75, and Charles Pulis, 64, bothformer members of the Missionary Society of St Paul, were sentenced in August last year to five and six years’ imprisonment respectively for sexually abusing 11 boys in their care at St Joseph Home in Sta Venera some 20 years ago.

Mr Justice David Scicluna spent two hours reading out a meticulous and studied judgment. The men were then led away surrounded by six police officers and taken in a prison van to begin their jail term.
 
The case first came to light in 2003 when the victims and, namely, Lawrence Grech, who became the unofficial spokesman for them, spoke up about what went on in the home when he was a teenager.
The victims present in court told reporters afterwards that while they still considered their abusers as parents, they would not forgive them for what they had been put through.

Mr Justice Scicluna went through all the testimony and evidence and waded through the arguments presented by the defence lawyers Giannella de Marco and Joseph Giglio.

Although not altering the jail term, the judge found Mr Scerri not guilty of abusing one of the boys because he had proved that he was not in Malta when the crime was meant to have taken place.

In the case of Mr Pulis, the judge found that the charge involving another victim ought to be dropped because it was time barred.

Referring to one of the main arguments used by the defence team, that the whole case was the figment of the “extraordinary imagination” of Mr Grech, the judge asked: “Why? What reasons could lead this court to believe this theory?”

He said that it was suggested by the accused that the allegations were borne out of hatred towards the Church or the clergy or the promise of money.
But, he added, would such reasons really push individuals to subject themselves to public suffering when victims usually tried to hide the fact they were abused.
“It was alleged that Mr Grech liked the publicity and played the victim but what about the other men?” the judge said.

Although some of the victims’ actions were contradictory, the judge said court did not speculate about their motivations but relied on the evidence that was presented.

Mr Justice Scicluna noted the contradictions in Mr Grech’s actions, adding that on one hand he made serious allegations and yet on the other kept in close contact with his abuser.
He remained close with Mr Pulis for many years after the abuse, the judge said.
Yet when testifying, Mr Pulis said Mr Grech had pent-up anger towards him without qualifying why. This, the judge said, signified anger because he was abused.

In conclusion, the judge said that after reviewing the evidence, the Magistrates’ Court legally and reasonably reached a guilty verdict.

In deciding on punishment, the judge took into consideration that both men had psychological and medical problems and asked the prisons director to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that they would receive appropriate care.

Moving on from clerical abuse case

November 14, 2012

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that this court case is finally over.

Two former priests who have used every legal tool at their disposal to drag out a very sad episode will finally go to prison for abusing children in their care after an Appeals Court confirmed their convictions yesterday.

Godwin Scerri and Charles Pulis, formerly members of the Missionary Society of St Paul, were sentenced in August 2011 to five and six years’ imprisonment respectively for sexually abusing boys in their care at St Joseph Home in Santa Venera. However, rather than show contrition for what they had done, they chose to prolong the pain for their victims.

Their approach, though legally permissible, was not morally commendable – even if at the conclusion of the appeal yesterday the presiding judge found that the charges filed in relation to one of the victims against Mr Pulis was time-barred and that Mr Scerri was not guilty of abusing one of the boys from several who made allegations. Ultimately, this was of little consequence because Mr Justice David Scicluna felt it made no difference to the prison sentences they were handed by a magistrate last year.

The primary relief comes for the victims themselves. The incidents took place many years ago and all of them now are grown men, some with families of their own. But their psychological scars have been clearly visible throughout. These are the indelible marks that the former priests have left on these human beings.

For them it has been an intolerable struggle for justice. They first waited for years, as many victims do, to speak out. And when they did, they were mistreated by the justice system.

It is a hugely embarrassing fact that this criminal case took almost a decade to reach its conclusion.

The Church itself has not emerged well from the scandal either.

Its Response Team, tasked with dealing with such cases, proved woefully inadequate and it took the intervention of the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Mgr Charles Scicluna, who is now Malta’s new Auxiliary Bishop, to move things along.

The time has now come not to forget – these things can never be forgotten – but to attempt to move forward.

With the judicial process now over – at least one would hope it is over – the ball is once again in the Church’s court to ensure that it treats the victims with the compassion they deserve.

Some of the victims have not always helped themselves with their aggressive utterances. However, the Church must make good on its promise to give them access to the board it has set up offering therapeutic services for victims of abuse by the clergy.

It should also ensure that they receive compensation and also continue to promote a culture in which it receives with compassion all those who come forward with allegations of abuse.

Mgr Scicluna can use his broad experience to help bring this about, while it behoves the rest of us to constantly bear in mind that the large majority of priests in our community do nothing but good.

There has, of course, been another loser in this terrible case and that is St Joseph’s home. It is often forgotten that this institution has done sterling work in the past and still does so today, caring for around a dozen children who have not got the opportunities in life enjoyed by many others. They should not be penalised because of the heinous acts that Mr Scerri and Mr Pulis have been found guilty of committing.

On the contrary, the public should support them more than ever.

KLIK

bron

circa 1896

"Organized in 1867 by the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis, for the care of homeless and wayward boys. The institution was first located on Lock street, and afterwards at Third and Plum streets,  Cincinnati. In 1870 it was removed to the present location, where it has in addition to its many new and commodious buildings, a farm of 100 acres. There are present in the institution 156 boys. They attend schol and work upon the farm. At a certain age, they are given the choice of following trades, which are taught them by the Brothers: shoemaking, tailoring, carpentering and baking. The institution is purely charitable, and depends altogether upon the kindness of a generous public for  its support. In 1893 the handsome brick and stone chapel was erected and dedicated to St. Joseph. Rev. Jerome Kilgenstein, O.S.F. is the chaplain. Brotehr Amadeus is the Provincial Superior. There are 30 Brothers connected with the institution."

Athenaeum of Ohio, Eugene H. Maly Memorial Library

Poor Brothers of St Francis

klik

Dank U !!

Anjer fonds roept 19 januari uit tot Nationale Zusjes Dag na stevig aan de weg getimmer door Mea Culpa United

Denkend aan Holland 

zie ik kreunende dijken 

en het kruiende ijs

Dank U voor die Bloemen

Na Onafhankelijk Onderzoek

En 

In een flits besefte ik 
Dat het goed gaat, 
dat het goed gaat met ons land  
Ja, het gaat goed met ons land 
Het gaat goed met ons land 
Het gaat goed met ons land 
Het gaat goed met Nederland 
Het gaat goed met ons vaderland  
Ja, het gaat goed met Nederland!...

Beide teksten  Ivo de Wijs 

Gregorius Gregory van Buuren, Deetman

bron

Koning, wij willen uw zege bevechten

bron

Ik durf het haast niet te vragen,maar uhh...Pierke om een hesp en een ton bier hoe zat het met die missie op Nieuw Guinea?
En je gaat me nou toch niet vertellen dat een van die Hongaren ontheemd geraakte doordat hij als kind werd achtergehouden door de rector van de Goede Herder, hu?

Dat heb je zo met die Jezuiten

Jan boven Jan

bron De Limburger

Portugal Oficinas de S José (de la Salle)

Na Oficina de S. José, no Porto, viviam 30 jovens em 2010

Oficina de S. José, que acolheu a maioria dos menores envolvidos na morte da transexual Gisberta, no Porto, foi o palco dos casos de maus tratos e abusos sexuais. Julgamento arranca dia 27.
Agressões reiteradas de monitores, abusos sexuais entre alunos e até menores vítimas de prostituição. Seis anos depois de um grupo de alunos da Oficina de S. José, no Porto, ter chocado o país com o seu envolvimento na morte da transexual Gisberta, a Justiça levanta o véu sobre o dia-a-dia que se vivia na instituição tutelada pela Diocese do Porto, que acolhia então mais de 60 rapazes. Em Julho de 2010, a notícia destes casos, ainda em investigação, precipitou o encerramento do lar que, na altura, já só albergava 30 jovens.

Os nove inquéritos que o PÚBLICO consultou nos tribunais mostram como os maus tratos e os abusos marcavam a vida da instituição e nem os holofotes do caso Gisberta, morta em Fevereiro de 2006 num parque de estacionamento do Porto, esbateram a violência e a negligência que pareciam enraizadas na Oficina de S. José. O padre Américo Aguiar, porta-voz da Diocese do Porto, diz desconhecer os inquéritos e enfatiza que a Oficina era apenas uma das centenas de instituições tutelas pelo Bispo do Porto. "O que a diocese deseja é que a Justiça cumpra o seu papel", afirma Amério Aguiar, recusando, que a Igreja tenha um papel fiscalizador destas instituições que, insiste, são autónomas. "Não temos logística, nem meios para isso. Esse papel cabe ao Estado, nomeadamente, à Segurança Social", completa.

38 crimes em seis anos

Entre 2004 e 2010, os menores da oficina terão sido vítimas de 38 crimes (24 de maus tratos, oito de abuso sexual de crianças, três de acto sexual com adolescente e três de recurso à prostituição de menores) que em breve chegarão aos tribunais. Um deles, que envolve um homem de 54 anos acusado de abusar de dois dos rapazes institucionalizados (um de 12 anos e outro de 15) a troco de sandes, dinheiro e tabaco, já tem data marcada. O julgamento começa a 27 deste mês nas Varas Criminais do Porto.

Conhecido como padrinho de um dos jovens internados, de quem já abusaria, o empregado de mesa foi conseguindo abordar os seus colegas com quem contactava telefonicamente para marcar encontros. E estes saíam frequentemente da Oficina de S. José, sem controlo, como testemunhou uma das técnicas da instituição. O indivíduo seleccionava preferencialmente jovens com deficiências cognitivas evidentes com quem fazia amizade e, mais tarde, conquistava sexualmente. Referenciado pelas autoridades por ter já cumprido mais de vinte anos de prisão por tráfico de droga e furto qualificado, terá, segundo a acusação, procurado dois menores da Oficina, um de 12 e outro de 15 anos, entre Fevereiro de 2008 e Março de 2010, com quem manteria relações sexuais em casas devolutas, entre outros sítios. Ali, o arguido aliciava os jovens, beijava-os e consumava sexo anal e oral. Para além disto, o homem pedia aos jovens para se beijarem mutuamente e para "manterem ambos relações de sexo anal". Nesses casos, apenas assistia, abeirando-se depois até assumir um papel nos actos. "Não utilizava preservativo, nem consentia que os menores o fizessem", refere o Ministério Público (MP). Como recompensa, "oferecia-lhes pastéis, sumos e quantias entre cinco a dez euros".

A acusação concretiza dois casos entre Janeiro e Fevereiro de 2010, mas salienta que os abusos ocorreram "inúmeras vezes". De acordo com o MP, o arguido procurava habitualmente os jovens junto às escolas que frequentavam ou combinava encontros perto de sua casa.

João (nome fictício) poupava na sedução. O jovem, agora com 21 anos, vivia na Oficina de S. José e usaria a superioridade física para criar terror nos colegas mais novos. Em 2008, na altura com 17 anos, abusava frequentemente de dois colegas de 10 e 15 anos. Por isso está acusado de cinco crimes de abuso sexual de crianças, punidos com prisão entre três e dez anos, e de três de acto sexual com adolescente, arriscando, neste caso, um máximo de três anos de cadeia por crime.

Oferta de cigarros

Num dos episódios, relatado na acusação, ordenou que um dos colegas baixasse as calças num quarto de banho. O MP diz que a vítima foi depois obrigado a praticar sexo oral e anal para satisfazer os "instintos" do abusador. A situação repetiu-se mais quatro vezes, em Dezembro de 2008, sempre no interior da Oficina, ora numa casa de banho, ora um quarto. O isco era a oferta de um cigarro que acabava em sexo oral, anal e em masturbação forçada.

As vítimas eram sempre avisadas de que não deveriam dizer nada a ninguém e o agressor usava a sua ascendência na instituição para assegurar o silêncio dos jovens. O caso, que chegou recentemente ao tribunal, aguarda a marcação de um exame psicológico ao arguido para seguir para julgamento.

Mas estes não seriam os únicos crimes cometidos na instituição. Várias denúncias de maus tratos feitas tanto por alunos como por familiares haviam sido condenadas à irrelevância após a recusa dos encarregados de educação em apresentar queixas. Mas, em 2008, uma carta anónima enviada ao Tribunal de Família e Menores do Porto e remetida para o Departamento de Investigação e Acção Penal do Porto inicia a investigação da Polícia Judiciária. Várias outras queixas acabam por ser incorporadas num inquérito que deu origem, em Dezembro passado, à acusação de dois monitores da Oficina, acusados, respectivamente, de 20 e quatro crimes de maus tratos, punidos, cada um, com pena de prisão de um a cinco anos.

Na acusação são descritas inúmeras bofetadas na cara, socos na cabeça, pontapés e insultos, que entre 2004 e 2008 terão integrado os hábitos da instituição fundada em 1883 para acolher crianças pobres e lhes dar um ofício. Algumas crianças terão sido agredidas mais de quatro anos. Isso mesmo aconteceria com Carlos (nome fictício) que era acordado "com estalos na cara e murros na cabeça" sempre que adormecia na sala de estudos ou Vasco (nome fictício) que desde os 10 anos era vítima de bofetadas e pontapés a que se somavam insultos como "filho da puta".

Um dos "prefeitos", como eram conhecidos na Oficina, acompanhou os menores mais de oito anos, entre Abril de 2002 e Julho 2010, altura em que a instituição encerrou. "[Os arguidos] sabiam que os menores acolhidos na Oficina de S. José estavam especialmente fragilizados ao nível dos afectos e, mesmo assim, quiseram provocar-lhes lesões na sua integridade física e psicológica", escreve a procuradora na acusação. E acrescenta: "Bem sabendo que com tal conduta estavam a provocar-lhes um sofrimento profundo, já que o mesmo era causado por aqueles que, de alguma forma, constituíam a referência de protecção contra a situação que os levara ao acolhimento na instituição".

Bispo do Porto: Era inevitável fechar Oficinas de S. José

23-3-2012
DN

Labor under attack over 'forgotten Australians'

Stuart Rintoul
The Australian
04 october 2011

Human Rights Commission president Catherine Branson has criticised the Gillard government for refusing to take a leadership role on the "forgotten Australians" who were abused as children while in state or church care.

In a letter of support last week to Leonie Sheedy, head of Care Leavers Australia Network, Ms Branson said the abuse of children was clearly a human rights violation and governments had an obligation to promote "the physical and psychological recovery" of child victims.

"I express concern that the commonwealth government has declined to take a leadership role on the issue of redress for these past abuses," Ms Branson said.

Ms Branson said she had received more than 100 often moving letters from former victims of abuse.

She said she had urged Families Minister Jenny Macklin to pursue options through the Council of Australian Governments to establish redress schemes in all states and to ensure those schemes were consistent and inclusive.

Ms Branson's criticism came as abuse victims said that, failing federal action, they would attempt to have their unresolved claims dealt with by the UN Committee Against Torture, as some of Ireland's abuse victims did earlier this year.

In May, a group called Justice for Magdalenes, representing women formerly incarcerated in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries, took their case to the Committee Against Torture, which strongly recommended the Irish government investigate their claims of abuse and provide redress.

Protesting outside the Christian Brothers head office at Parkville in Melbourne yesterday, Ms Sheedy said Australia needed a national reparations fund to overcome the gaps and inequities in state-based funds.

"The feds wash their hands of it and say it's a state issue," Ms Sheedy said.

"But there are a lot of people who have missed out in the state systems."

Victoria and NSW do not have redress schemes. Queensland's scheme, which allows for payments of between $7000 and $40,000, does not apply to people who were abused or neglected in foster care or in institutions outside the scope of the 1998-99 Forde inquiry into abuse of children in the state's institutions.

In July, Ms Sheedy vowed to continue campaigning on behalf of her late brother Anthony, claiming he suffered appalling levels of abuse in state and church care from the age of 2 to 19.

She said yesterday the Christian Brothers had written to the Victorian government offering a "pastoral meeting" to address the issue, but no settlement, which had resulted in the Victorian government reassessing its position.

At least half a million children grew up in more than 500 orphanages, institutions and other out-of-home care in Australia in the 20th century. A Senate report on the "Forgotten Australians" in 2004 said there were "hundreds of graphic and disturbing accounts".

Quinn meeting boycotted by ‘demonised’ religious order

[...]done what needed to be done – can the swinging rosaries undo it now?klik


Saturday July 23 2011
Irish Independent
Breda Heffernan

ONE of the largest religious orders criticised in the Ryan report boycotted a meeting with Education Minister Ruairi Quinn yesterday, saying it has been “misrepresented and demonised”.
The Sisters of Mercy said it had twice sought a private meeting with Mr Quinn and was not prepared to take part in a joint meeting with the other religious congregations.

In a statement released yesterday, the sisters delivered a ultimatum to Mr Quinn, saying that if he did not accept a portfolio of properties offered by it as a contribution to the €1.3bn compensation bill, then they would dispose of them elsewhere.

They said five of the properties would be offered to various local authorities, while two others would be sold and the proceeds given to the new national children’s hospital.

However, Mr Quinn last night rejected the offer and said the properties were considered by his department and the Office of Public Works and were found to not to be of use to the state.

The order said the properties were valued at just under €81m in December 2009. They are expected to be worth considerably less now.

Sister Coirle McCarthy, congregational leader, said that in the past 10 years it had donated cash and property worth more than €1bn without seeking public recognition.

She cited the example of the congregation’s transfer of 66 secondary schools to an independent Catholic trust.

“However, the sisters believe that they have been misrepresented and demonised in recent years and that their congregation has been portrayed in a way that seeks to undermine their voluntary service to this country and beyond,” she added.

Problems

Three other orders — the Rosminians, the Daughters of the Heart of Mary and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity — were not present at the meeting at the Department of Education in Dublin yesterday. however, their non-attendance was due to time-tabling problems. Some of the orders are comparatively small and their leaders were out of the country.

As they left the department, several of the orders described the meeting as “constructive” and “positive” and said they had agreed to enter into further discussions.

Addressing the orders, Mr Quinn was blunt in his criticism, saying their offers of additional contributions were “both individually and collectively disappointing”.

He gave the example of a congregation that proposed to transfer an old primary school into state ownership while another offered €1m and to refund some or all of its legal costs.

“I believe that there is a moral responsibility on your congregations to significantly augment your contributions. This issue will not go away,” he told them.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mr Quinn said he was willing to meet all the congregations, including the Sisters of Mercy, individually.

“The orders were at pains to indicate there was more than just themselves involved in the administration of the institutions and I accept that and I will now be looking at just what the implications of that are.”

However, he added: “I think the body of public opinion clearly is of the view that there should be a fair and reasonable settlement, that 50:50 is fair.”

Mr Quinn also met a number of survivors of institutional abuse earlier in the day.

Abuse victim Paddy Doyle, author of ‘The God Squad’, described it as a “business-like meeting” and said Mr Quinn had “his hand firmly on the pulse”.

“I reckon he is genuinely listening and he is adamant he will take on the church and the religious and get as much as he can out of them.”

Jan Rap en z'n maten

Its about courage, survival, strenght and resilience, TRC’s 2e National event welcomes all to Inuvik calls upon global witnesses as keepers of history

We (Chairperson Justice Murray Sinclair,
Commissioners Chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson) are committed to each
other and to the cause of the Commission and we will see this through to the
end. I promise you that we will seek out the stories of all those connected to
the schools who are still alive, from the students and the teachers, to the
managers and the janitors, as well as the officials who planned and carried out
the whole thing.
If you have a story to tell about the schools, we will hear
it. If you cannot come to us, we will come to you. If you cannot speak, we will
find someone to speak for you.
We will go to as many communities as we
humanly can manage and where we can't go ourselves we will send our delegates
armed with our authority to record the stories of those who wish to tell
them.
And in the end we will ensure that the whole world hears their truths
and the truth about residential schools, so that future generations of
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians will be able to hold to the statement
that resonates with all of us: This must never happen again."

28-6- 2011
Inuvik, Northwest Territories




klik







bron

Stella Maris Kortrijk en een buitengewoon domme professor die ook zijn vakliteratuur niet kent en hernieuwd demonstreert weinig van de rkk te weten.

BRUSSEL - Het gerecht onderzoekt of zusters van het tehuis Stella Maris in de jaren zestig een jongen hebben misbruikt. Het zou het eerste bekende geval van misbruik door nonnen zijn.
Van onze redacteur

Een anonieme getuigenis van een vijftiger uit Brugge stak gisteren het vuur aan de lont. Op Radio 2 West-Vlaanderen vertelde de man hoe hij in de jaren zestig van zijn vijfde tot zevende in het weeshuis Stella Maris in Kortrijk door minstens twee zusters werd misbruikt. ‘Ze kwamen me halen en dan gebeurden de seksuele handelingen. Ik moest aan hun borsten en vagina komen. We hadden ook orale seks. Soms moest ik bij hen slapen.'

Volgens de man zouden er toen nog andere jongetjes het slachtoffer zijn geworden. Dat hij pas onlangs besloot om naar het gerecht te stappen, komt naar eigen zeggen omdat hij verbaasd was dat er nog geen enkel verhaal over vrouwelijke plegers bekend was.

Als zijn verhaal klopt, zou Stella Maris inderdaad het eerste bekende schandaal van misbruik door kloosterzusters zijn in ons land. Alle klachten die de voormalige commissie-Adriaenssens vorig jaar over de Kerk kreeg, gingen over mannelijke daders.

‘Alles bestaat uiteraard', zegt Peter Adriaenssens. ‘Maar we moeten een onderscheid maken tussen een individueel geval en een weerkerend probleem. Er is mij geen studie over misbruik door zusters bekend. Voor zover ik weet, is het een randfenomeen.'

Schroom

Toch zijn er aanwijzingen dat ook misbruik door zusters vroeger geregeld voorkwam. Na de affaire-Vangheluwe kreeg Tele-Onthaal vorig jaar 350 oproepen over seksueel geweld door geestelijken. Vijf procent ging over nonnen die meisjes hadden misbruikt. ‘Dat zijn toch vijftien tot twintig gevallen', zegt Chris De Ketelbutter. ‘Dat zij zwijgen, heeft misschien te maken met de schroom om toe te geven dat ze door een vrouw werden misbruikt. Over een mannelijke dader kun je rapper zeggen dat je je niet kon verweren. Over een vrouw wordt dat minder snel geloofd.'

Omdat de man die gisteren getuigde in Brugge een klacht heeft ingediend, is het parket van Kortrijk op basis van zijn anonieme radiogetuigenis nu met een opsporingsonderzoek begonnen. Dat moet uitmaken of de feiten kloppen.

De man had het vooral over ‘zuster Germaine' en ‘zuster Cécile'. Die laatste zou de overste zijn geweest. ‘Zij was veel imposanter, minder lief ook. Ik moest op haar bed gaan zitten. Zij deed haar nachtjapon uit en stond volledig naakt in de kamer of droeg van die ouderwetse nylonkousen. Ze had enorm veel schaamhaar en drukte me tegen zich aan. Daar kreeg ik een grote afkeer van.'

‘Toen ik op mijn dertigste een dochtertje kreeg, begon er iets te breken. Ik droomde dat ik agressief was en dezelfde handelingen met haar deed. Ik kon ook lang niet verdragen dat mijn vrouw nylonkousen droeg of veel schaamhaar had. Ik ben in therapie gegaan. Dat heeft me erg geholpen, maar weggaan doet het nooit.'

De man zegt vroeger contact met Stella Maris te hebben opgenomen om erkenning te vragen. Maar een gesprek zou door de zusters geweigerd zijn.

Het tehuis werd vroeger beheerd door de Zusters Verrue. Die orde bestaat niet meer. Het tehuis Stella Maris wel. Dat behoort nu tot de vzw West-Vlaamse Jeugdzorg Stella Maris en vangt nu vooral kinderen uit problematische opvoedingssituaties op.

De huidige raad van bestuur zegt pas vorige week van het verhaal op de hoogte te zijn gebracht. Ze wil open kaart spelen en roept alle ouders en kinderen op zich te melden als zij ook het slachtoffer van misbruik zijn geweest. ‘Maar voorlopig zijn daar geen aanwijzingen voor. Laten we hopen dat het hierbij blijft', zegt de advocaat van Stella Maris, Jan Leysen.

De zusters die nog bij het tehuis betrokken zijn, zeggen nooit over de feiten te hebben gehoord. Ze kennen ook geen overste die Cécile heette. ‘Dat wil niet zeggen dat we aan het verhaal van de man twijfelen. Religieuzen namen al eens een andere naam aan als ze intraden. We gaan nu na wie de daders kunnen zijn geweest. We willen dat dit tot op het bot wordt onderzocht', aldus Leysen.

Opmerkelijk is dat de raad van bestuur vorige week ook van een ander feit van misbruik op de hoogte werd gebracht. ‘Het gaat om een voorval uit 1992, door een pater die toen regelmatig bij de kinderen op bezoek kwam. Nadat een opvoeder het misbruik toen had gemeld, werd de man de toegang tot het tehuis ontzegd.'

‘Door het nieuws van het misbruik door enkele zusters heeft de opvoeder dat verhaal opnieuw aan de huidige raad van bestuur gemeld. Wij hebben het parket gevraagd om hier gevolg aan te geven.'

Keine Vorschlage: Runder Tisch zur Heimerziehung vor dem Scheitern

Der Tagesspiegel
02.11.2010

Sechs Wochen vor dem Ende der Beratungen gibt es keinen Vorschlag für Entschädigungen der ehemaligen Heimkinder. Die Opfer fühlen sich betrogen.

Kurz vor Weihnachten sollen sie der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt werden: die Ergebnisse der Arbeit am „Runden Tisch Heimerziehung in den 50er und 60er Jahren". Zwei Jahre lang hat sich das Gremium getroffen, zu seinen Aufgaben gehörte es, einen Vorschlag zu erarbeiten, wie ehemalige Heimkinder für erlittenes Unrecht entschädigt werden könnten. Doch Monika Tschapek-Güntner, die Vorsitzende des Verbandes ehemaliger Heimkinder, erwartet nicht mehr, dass es zu einer Einigung kommt. Damit wäre der Runde Tisch aus Sicht der Opfer gescheitert, denn die Frage der Entschädigung ist ihr wichtigstes Anliegen.

Noch immer gibt es keinen Vorschlag der Heimvertreter am Runden Tisch, über den man reden könnte. „Es wird bis Dezember verhandelt", wehrt Antje Vollmer, Moderatorin des Gremiums, die Fragen nach der Entschädigung ab. Mehr will sie nicht sagen, es sei ein „heikles Thema". Auch die Evangelische Kirche will keine Stellungnahme zu diesem Thema abgeben, sie möchte den „Beratungen nicht vorgreifen". Ähnlich diskret die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz: Sie verrät nur, dass sie „konstruktiv an einer Lösung zum Thema Entschädigung mitarbeitet". Mit wem da beraten und verhandelt wird, ist rätselhaft. Den Heimkindervertretern wurde jedenfalls noch kein Angebot unterbreitet: „Es tut sich nichts", sagt der 70-jährige Stefan Beuerle, einer der Vertreter der Betroffenen am Runden Tisch. „Keiner nennt Zahlen, niemand macht einen konkreten Vorschlag."

Es scheint keinen zu geben, denn auch in dem 54-seitigen internen Entwurf für den Abschlussbericht, der dem Tagesspiegel vorliegt, ist das Kapitel „Lösungsvorschlag des Runden Tisches" komplett ausgespart: Da steht, sechs Wochen vor Beratungsschluss, nur eine Überschrift und sonst kein einziges Wort. Und auch unter dem Punkt „materielle Anerkennung": nichts Genaues. So heißt es etwa, eine materielle Anerkennung sei „durch direkte individuelle finanzielle Leistungen denkbar". Das könnten, heißt es weiter, Therapiekosten sein, Kosten für die Verwandtensuche oder auch Unterstützung in besonderen Lebenslagen, die durch die Heimerziehung mit verursacht wurden. Es könnten aber auch direkte Leistungen sein in Form von Rentenausgleich, Entschädigung, Schmerzensgeld. „Das wussten wir auch schon vor zwei Jahren", kritisiert Tschapek-Güntner.

Der Runde Tisch wurde im November 2008 nach einem Beschluss des Bundestags eingerichtet, vorausgegangen war ein jahrzehntelanger Kampf der Betroffenen um Rehabilitierung und Rentenansprüche. Die erste Sitzung des Gremiums fand im Februar 2009 statt. Mit Vollmer als Moderatorin sollte die Runde die gewalttätige Praxis in den Kinderheimen aufarbeiten und Empfehlungen geben, wie mit Ansprüchen ehemaliger Heimkinder verfahren werden soll. Der wichtigste Punkt für die Betroffenen: Werden sie für Gewalt, Unrecht und Willkür, denen sie in den staatlichen und kirchlichen Heimen der Nachkriegszeit ausgesetzt waren, eine finanzielle Entschädigung erhalten?

Die Opfer fordern wahlweise eine monatliche Rente in Höhe von 300 Euro oder eine Einmalzahlung von 54 000 Euro. Betroffene müssten hier nur glaubhaft machen, dass sie damals in einem Heim untergebracht waren. Diese pauschale Entschädigung wird wohl abgelehnt. Der Runde Tisch kommt in seiner Bewertung zu der Einschätzung, dass eine damit verbundene Qualifizierung der Heimerziehung als generelles Unrecht nicht angemessen ist. Vollmer sagt, dass „viele Erwartungen enttäuscht werden müssten", hofft aber, dass es zu einer einvernehmlichen Lösung zwischen den Beteiligten kommt. Tschapek-Güntner sieht das anders, und die Vorstellung, dass ein Vorschlag auf der letzten Sitzung per Tischvorlage kommt, findet sie nicht akzeptabel. „Wir werden doch über den Tisch gezogen." In ihren Befürchtungen, dass der Runde Tisch nur „eine Alibiveranstaltung" sei, fühlt sie sich bestätigt.

Malta: Kerk erkent gegrondheid klachten misbruikslachtoffers

Dossiers overgemaakt aan Vaticaan
Geplaatst door onze redactie op zaterdag 30 oktober 2010 om 00:10u

VALLETTA (RKnieuws.net) - De Kerk van Malta heeft de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik door priesters laten weten dat hun klachten gegrond zijn en dat hun dossiers nu aan het Vaticaan worden overgemaakt. Dat heeft de woordvoerder van de Maltese Kerk vrijdag gemeld.De misbruikpraktijken, gepleegd door drie priesters, vonden in de jaren 1980 en 1990 plaats in een weeshuis nabij de hoofdstad Valletta, verklaarde woordvoerder Lou Bondi.

Het onderzoek werd gevoerd door rechter-emeritus Victor Caruana Colomboa, die daartoe door de Kerk was gemandateerd. Er waren twaalf slachtoffers. Daarvan hadden er acht een ontmoeting met paus Benedictus XVI toen die in april jl. een bezoek bracht aan Malta.Voor het pausbezoek stelde de Maltese Kerk dat zij sinds 1999 aanklachten tegen 45 priesters wegens seksueel misbruik kreeg waarvan de helft niet gegrond was.

Hulp en Recht: Zwarte pieten met Sinten

bron


KLIK en KLIK en KLIK en KLIK en KLIK en KLIK en Klik en Qongqothwane

This submission addresses the following terms of reference: 1 (b)...the adequacy of existing remedies and support mechanisms; 1 (g) (iii) ...any necessary changes in current policies, practices and reporting mechanisms. In the submission we make several recommendations outlining some of the ways in which support can and should be provided to help adults who grew up in care reclaim their identity and their connection to family through a guided exploration of their history. We also explore issues of policy and practice that have a detrimental effect on children today and draw attention to practices that will have a beneficial effect instead. The submission concludes with a set of recommendations for supporting those who grew up in care and relinquishing mothers, and also for improving the care currently provided children and young people today.

Iedereen die ook maar iets weet van de problemen waarmee vroegere zorg-ontvangers op internaten te maken hebben kent het probleem van de archieven en het gebrek aan informatie.

Dit heeft op diverse terreinen een groot aantal consequenties.
Cie. Deetman en Samson, maar ook de huidige discussies rondom het electronische kind-dossier, zijn hier uitingen van.
Het probleem van gebrek aan informatie en die archieven ligt op een verschillende terreinen, van wetgeving via minachting tot rkk doofpotten, versterkt elkaar en veroorzaakt aan individuen en maatschappelijk onnodig ernstige letsel en beschadigingen.

Vooral: het belemmert oplossingen en heeft bijgedragen aan probleem versterkend jarenlang zwijgen van betrokkenen. Een opeenstapeling van destructie die bovendien, zeker op dit moment, mede door een aantal neurologische gevolgen van traumata ook wel eens bij kunnen dragen aan het probleem van de zgn. "valse beschuldigingen". Maar niet alleen dat.

Onnodige destructie!! Er zijn, zoals op een aantal andere terreinen, oplossingen mogelijk. En niet alleen in de vorm help-sorryzeggers - aan-hun-favotijdverdrijf- wetenschappers-aan-hun- reputatie-en-advocaten-aan-hun-dagelijks-brood.

Er is bovendien, geen noodzaak het ei in Nederland nog eens uit te vinden.

Ik heb hierover, recent, contact opgenomen met dat hulp en recht. Dat bleek, alweer, slechts misselijkmakend en onzinnig wegens alweer getoonde intentionele arrogantie van de stompzinnigheid. Hoewel mij na drie contacten en meededeling van intern overleg werd meegedeeld , de dames en heren zij geprezen, dat ik een melding wegens misbruik mocht doen en men zowaar halleluah sister mijn dossier (2004) al had teruggevonden....

OPROEP

Dit gaat naar (ook) Deetman. En naar een aantal mensen die ik de afgelopen 15 jaar dat ik met dit deel van de problemen en oplossingen persoonlijk zowel als tbv anderen direct of indirect heb leren kennen, die hiermee vanuit zelforganisaties als (semi)professionals (als archivarissen, (ex)FIOM medewerkers, bioschrijvers/therapeuten) etc. te maken kregen. Met het verzoek om vanuit hun ervaringen hier eens naar te kijken en eventuele reacties aan Deetman te laten weten.

Geïnteresseerd met (ervarings)kennis? vanzelfsprekend hetzelfde verzoek:

Doe je mond open, we hebben je meer dan hard nodig.

Niemand heeft het recht een ander de toegang tot haar of zijn verleden te ontzeggen.

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian residential schools is in the midst of another shakeup of its senior ranks following the resignation of the director of research and the appointment of a new executive director.

The personnel moves come just weeks after the commission’s first national event in Winnipeg, which was largely viewed as a success for gathering former students, teachers and religious leaders together to share stories about the boarding schools that operated for decades before almost all were closed in the 1970s.

Already more than a year behind schedule due to the resignations of the original three commissioners who were then replaced in June 2009, the changes at the highest levels of the support staff are prompting concern of further delays to the commission’s herculean task.
A product of the 2007 multi-billion out-of-court settlement between former students and the federal government and churches that ran the schools as a joint venture, the commission has a five-year mandate. But the commissioners are up against a deadline to produce a report by the end of its second year on “historic findings.”

The problem is that the commission has yet to even get its hands on the church records because of continuing technical negotiations over what form these documents should be in when they are handed over.

The resignation of research director John Milloy, who had only been in the position for a few months, comes after he delivered a face-to-face apology to church leaders during a meeting in Winnipeg over controversial remarks he made expressing his frustration over the pace of the document negotiations. The chair of the commission, Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, sent a letter of apology to church representatives in April after Mr. Milloy’s comments were published.

Dr. Milloy, a Trent University professor and author of a history of residential schools called A National Crime, will continue to play a key role with the commission later this year as a special adviser on research to the commissioners.

“I’m sorry to hear he has resigned because I do believe that will stall things for a time,” said Cecile Fausak, the United Church’s liaison minister for residential schools.

In an interview, Dr. Milloy said his resignation had nothing to do with his remarks, which included a comment suggesting the Roman Catholic Church was afraid of lawsuits against living priests if diaries reveal details about “buggering boys in the basement and that sort of thing.”

Rather, he says the position involved far more administrative work than he had expected and that his preference was to leave that to someone else so that he could focus solely on research.

We (Chairperson Justice Murray Sinclair, Commissioners Chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson) are committed to each other and to the cause of the Commission and we will see this through to the end.

I promise you that we will seek out the stories of all those connected to the schools who are still alive, from the students and the teachers, to the managers and the janitors, as well as the officials who planned and carried out the whole thing.

If you have a story to tell about the schools, we will hear it. If you cannot come to us, we will come to you.

If you cannot speak, we will find someone to speak for you.

We will go to as many communities as we humanly can manage and where we can't go ourselves we will send our delegates armed with our authority to record the stories of those who wish to tell them.

And in the end we will ensure that the whole world hears their truths and the truth about residential schools, so that future generations of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians will be able to hold to the statement that resonates with all of us: This must never happen again."

Justice Murray Sinclair,Chairperson TRC

speaking to Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting in Calgary, July 22nd. 2009

Goed werk! Lucifer effect vs de magnetron

maandag 28 juni 2010 om 00:50u

ANTWERPEN (RKnieuws.net) - ’De recente onthulling van veelvuldig seksueel machtsmisbruik van minderjarigen door kerkelijke functionarissen maakt duidelijk dat de kerk een groot probleem heeft: niet met de wereld of de media, maar met zichzelf. Ze staat in haar hemd. Het vertrouwen in haar leiderschap is geschonden, de machtsuitoefening binnen de kerk staat ter discussie. Een discussie die ook leeft bij protestanten’, aldus predikant Dick Wursten, inspecteur protestants-evangelisch godsdienstonderwijs, in het christelijk weekblad Tertio.

Leden van de leidende groep in de kerk pleegden misdaden en diezelfde groep gebruikte haar macht om het misbruik toe te dekken. Als je slachtoffer was, had je pech, want je kon alleen bij de duivel – de dader of een van zijn kompanen – te biecht gaan. De concentratie van alle macht bij de clerus wordt al lang aangevochten – ook binnen de kerk zelf – maar heeft na de recente feiten haar geloofwaardigheid verloren. Voor alle duidelijkheid: ik heb niets tegen macht, ook niet in de kerk. Macht – het vermogen om iets te laten gebeuren – is geen vies woord. Het hoort bij de dynamiek van het leven en speelt altijd een rol in relaties. Macht is aanwezig in de relatie ouder-kind, politie-burger, leerkracht-leerling, dokter-patiënt, enzovoort. Dat is niet erg. Waar het op aankomt, is dat de machtsuitoefening wordt (h)erkend en gereguleerd, vooral als de relatie erg ongelijk en niet-wederkerig is. Dan moet er een wettelijk kader zijn dat de zwakke beschermt tegen misbruik.


...


...



want, zoals theoloog Didier Pollefeyt opmerkte, “macht is maar authentiek als ze de onmacht van de ander behoedt voor verdere kwetsuren”.


naar volledige artikel

During the Indian Residential School era, a black mark on our society so easily dismissed by too many, the sole goal — publicly stated — was to “kill the Indian in the child.” But it did better than that.

It killed souls, generations of souls.

Yesterday, in Winnipeg, two years after the federal government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper made its historic apology for the wrongs done to our Native people during a bleak period in history that began in the 1870s and only ended in the 1990s, a panel of three commissioners with the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission began hearing first-hand stories of those abuses.

It has been a long time coming. Too long.

As Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl put it: “People should brace themselves. There’s going to be some horrible stories coming out.”

We can only hope. Stereotyping is easy, and it is easy because stereotyping is shallow and steeped in ignorance.

The “drunken Indian” is one such stereotype, bereft of insight into cause and effect, and therefore easy to rattle off as the reason for so many systemic woes among aboriginals.
Alcoholism in our First Nations communities has been crippling. No one will deny this. But where was it seeded?

It was seeded, by and large, in the state-financed, church-run residential schools where, over the course of time, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were separated from their families, most often against their will, and banned from speaking their own languages or following their culture.

Abuse — both physical and sexual — was rampant. If you are raised in such an environment, and such an environment becomes the norm, then it is that norm that is passed on to the next generation.

Fear, guilt and self-loathing are allies of alcoholism. Together they kill souls.

In seven national events over the next five years, beginning in Winnipeg, the true legacy of our residential schools, and the horrors therein, will finally be revealed by first-hand testimonials from those still alive to tell their tale.

Listen, and listen hard.

Hopefully these stories will mute the voices of the racists who believe, for example, that the “drunken Indian” stereotype is a self-inflicted wounding.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Reconcile with that.