Bishop failed to act on abuse complaint

by NZ CATHOLIC staff 

A former Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, Bishop John Kavanagh, failed to act on a complaint of abuse against one priest, but did take action appropriate for the time after a complaint against another priest, an inquiry process has found. 

Cardinal John Dew, Metropolitan Archbishop of Aotearoa-New Zealand, requested an inquiry in 2020, after a number of victims of abuse in the Dunedin diocese complained that Bishop Kavanagh – who died in 1985 – had not properly dealt with their complaints of sexual abuse by priests. 

At the cardinal’s request, the Church’s complaints body – the National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) – engaged independent Christchurch senior investigator Micky Earl of the firm Corporate Risks, to conduct an investigation into abuse complaints in the Dunedin diocese while Bishop Kavanagh was in office from 1957 to 1985. 

Mr Earl’s report has been considered by the NOPS Complaints Assessment Committee under the Church’s A Path to Healing process, and then by Cardinal Dew as the final arbiter. 

“The records showed that seven priests, two brothers and one lay teacher sexually abused children, and in one case an adult, during Bishop Kavanagh’s time as Bishop of Dunedin,” said Cardinal Dew. 

“The investigation found that Bishop Kavanagh knew of complaints related to two priests:  Father Freek Schokker in about 1963; and Magnus Murray in about 1972.  He did not know of the other cases, because complaints were not made until some years after Bishop Kavanagh had died. 

“In the case of Murray, the Complaints Assessment Committee found that Murray admitted abuse to Bishop Kavanagh and was sent to Australia for treatment,” said Cardinal Dew. “Because of that admission, and by sending Murray for treatment, Bishop Kavanagh did what he was required to under the Church canon law at the time. 

“In the case of Father Schokker, Bishop Kavanagh should have investigated the complaint, but failed to do so,” Cardinal Dew added. 

Freek Schokker was a priest from the Netherlands working in the diocese at the time of the complaint. He was accused of abusing two young people. He left New Zealand at some stage after the complaint. He died in the Netherlands in 1993, age 81.   

Magnus Murray became a priest in Auckland diocese in 1979 after returning to New Zealand. He was jailed for five years in 2003 after admitting 10 offences against four Dunedin boys from 1958 to1972. Murray was laicised – removed from the priesthood – in 2019, and lives in a rest home. 

Cardinal Dew has formally written to the Bishop of Dunedin, Michael Dooley, telling him of the findings. Bishop Dooley has announced that Kavanagh College is to be renamed Trinity College from January 1, 2023. 

“I accept that some survivors may not be happy with the decision that Bishop Kavanagh acted properly in respect [of] Magnus Murray. But that was in the context of canon law of the time. We take immediate action on complaints of abuse today.  We are committed to a safe environment for all within the Church community. Any form of abuse, misconduct or inappropriate behaviour is not acceptable,” said Cardinal Dew. 

Cardinal Dew urges anyone who has any concerns regarding inappropriate behaviour or abuse in a Church setting to contact NOPS or the police: “NOPS operates independently of diocesan and congregation structures. As in the Bishop Kavanagh inquiry, NOPS contracts professional, experienced and independent third-party investigators to conduct investigations on its behalf.”   

NOPS can be contacted by free phone on 0800 114 622, or by email at prof.standards@nzcbc.org.nz  The NOPS website, which includes the latest edition of A Path to Healing, is www.safeguarding.catholic.org.nz/