Catholic order ‘is still in denial, and that’s worrying’

‘St John of God seriously do not believe they have a problem,’ says consultant psychologist Michelle Mulvihill says.

‘It’s almost like it’s pushed back on you, and it’s humiliating,’ says sexual abuse victim David McNamara. Picture: Natalie Grono

When the royal commission into child sex abuse this week exposed the order of St John of God as having the highest proportion of perpetrators between 1950 and 2010, victim David McNamara was not surprised.

Counsel assisting, Gail Furness SC, said in her opening address that 40.4 per cent of St John of God clergy were alleged perpetrators during that time; the next highest grouping was the Christian Brothers with 22 per cent.

Mr McNamara told The Weekend Australian there should have been a case study into the brothers who abused him and many others in NSW and Victoria: “These were brothers looking after severely intellectually disabled … kids.”

The Catholic order arrived in Australia after World War II and opened a residential school for boys classed as having learning difficulties at Morriset, south of Newcastle, in NSW. It subsequently opened a school in Cheltenham, south of Melbourne, which later moved to Greensborough in the city’s northeast.

In the 1950s, the order also opened a residential centre on a farm at Lilydale in the Yarra Valley for adult men with learning and other disabilities.

Figures provided by St John of God show 42 of the 71 complaints made to the order relate to abuse occurring in NSW. One of them was Mr McNamara, who says he was abused by three of the brothers in the 1960s at Morriset.

One alleged abuser, Roger Mount, is serving a jail term in Victoria.

In a statement, the order said eight brothers had been offenders and they believed another four “may have been offenders”.

A further 23 brothers have been subject to allegations.

During the period examined by the royal commission, the order had 113 brothers, peaking in the 1960s with 38 brothers. There are now 17 brothers in Australia.

Michelle Mulvihill, a consultant psychologist who worked with the order and its victims, said the figures “conveniently left out” Australian brothers subject to allegations by victims in New Zealand. “They are only quoting offences that took place in Australia despite the fact many of the same brothers are alleged offenders in multiple countries,” she said.

Dr Mulvihill said she thought the royal commission had underestimated the number of perpetrators within St John of God.

“St John of God seriously do not believe they have a problem,” she said. “They’re still in denial. That’s … very worrying to me.”

Three brothers have been convicted of offences in Australia, figures provided by the order say.

Provincial leader Brother Timothy Graham said the actions of offending brothers were a serious betrayal of the trust of children and their families or carers: “The brothers daily live the shame of that pain and degradation inflicted by some members of the order.”

The school Mr McNamara was abused at is set to be turned into a resort. He has tried to arrange for a plaque on the site to acknowledge the victims. “People don’t talk about it,” he said. “It’s almost like I’m making it up, like it’s pushed back on you; it’s humiliating.”