Survivors Network
Virginia Giuffre hailed
There is no policy
"We will continue to listen, consult, be open to criticism from people, including lay people, who are strong enough to give us honest, robust, reasonable, evidence-based feedback."
Brian McCoy SJ, former Jesuit Provincial. Media Release 17 December 2018
The Society of Jesus shoots the messenger
The Society of Jesus Australia has been trying and is trying to shut down this website.
Simply because they don't like the content and don't want survivors and the public to know about Jesuit child sex abuse and the offenders.
Aggrieved people usually sue for defamation, they don't because there is nothing defamatory.
So they use other legal means to try to silence us.
By contrast on January 26, 2020 The Age ran an article:
"Staff inside the church division, which is led by former Australian Federal Police officer Simon Davies, say they take a survivor-led approach, which means they are unlikely to take any action against the website administrators."
♦ www.theage.com.au
If you find this website useful and/or consider their actions morally and ethically wrong, please email the Jesuit Provincial, Quyen Vu SJ expressing your thoughts.
provincial@sjasl.org.au
Send email to Jesuit Provincial, Quyen Vu SJ
Simply because they don't like the content and don't want survivors and the public to know about Jesuit child sex abuse and the offenders.
Aggrieved people usually sue for defamation, they don't because there is nothing defamatory.
So they use other legal means to try to silence us.
By contrast on January 26, 2020 The Age ran an article:
"Staff inside the church division, which is led by former Australian Federal Police officer Simon Davies, say they take a survivor-led approach, which means they are unlikely to take any action against the website administrators."
♦ www.theage.com.au
If you find this website useful and/or consider their actions morally and ethically wrong, please email the Jesuit Provincial, Quyen Vu SJ expressing your thoughts.
provincial@sjasl.org.au
Send email to Jesuit Provincial, Quyen Vu SJ
The Men of God protect their temporal empire.
Simon Davies, Director of Professional Standards
Preferred survivor status
• Standard defence: "we deny it happened, and if it did happen, which we deny, we are not liable".
• No credibly accused list. • Confidentiality. • No talking to survivors. • Promised annual report cancelled
• Loud fence ribbons torn down. • Survivors told to go elsewhere. • Destruction of records. •
Strengthening the Jesuits' universal vision by telling lies
March 12, 2025
Father General Arturo Sosa SJ said: "On the issue of safeguarding, he expressed the pain and closeness of the Society of Jesus with victims who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Jesuits.
The effort also includes creating dedicated channels for listening to victims
Absolutely not done in Australia.
March 12, 2025
Father General Arturo Sosa SJ said: "On the issue of safeguarding, he expressed the pain and closeness of the Society of Jesus with victims who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Jesuits.
The effort also includes creating dedicated channels for listening to victims
Absolutely not done in Australia.
Theo Overberg SJ convicted of indecent assault then gets off on appeal
The Theo Overberg case began back in 2020. He was charged with 3 counts of indecent assault at St. Iganatius College, Riverview, in 1975
Appeal Upheld Decision Date: 7 February 2025
The Theo Overberg case began back in 2020. He was charged with 3 counts of indecent assault at St. Iganatius College, Riverview, in 1975
Appeal Upheld Decision Date: 7 February 2025
Senior Jesuit St Ignatius’ College Riverview Jailed For Child Abuse
03/09/2024
Lawrence Leonard SJ, a former senior Jesuit brother at St Ignatius’ College Riverview in Sydney, was recently sentenced to nine months in prison for historical child sex abuse.
Leonard was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault against a 12-year-old student in the mid-1970s.
03/09/2024
Lawrence Leonard SJ, a former senior Jesuit brother at St Ignatius’ College Riverview in Sydney, was recently sentenced to nine months in prison for historical child sex abuse.
Leonard was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault against a 12-year-old student in the mid-1970s.
Vatican condemns publication of ‘credibly accused’ clergy lists — again
February 26, 2025
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts issued guidance to bishops last year, which said that canon law prohibits published lists denoting clerics “credibly accused” of sexual abuse crimes.
February 26, 2025
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts issued guidance to bishops last year, which said that canon law prohibits published lists denoting clerics “credibly accused” of sexual abuse crimes.
Irish Jesuits publish names of alleged child sex offenders
February 12, 2025
They say:
"The purpose behind any such a naming is clear:
to reach people who had been sexually abused by Jesuits as children and invite them to engage with the Order and speak about their abuse.
February 12, 2025 They say:
"The purpose behind any such a naming is clear:
to reach people who had been sexually abused by Jesuits as children and invite them to engage with the Order and speak about their abuse.
Attorney, archdiocese spar over list of credibly accused priests
January 10, 2025
Attorney Jeff Anderson held a Jan. 6 press conference outside the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, claiming that Cordileone had promised to issue such a list three years earlier, but had not done so.
January 10, 2025
Attorney Jeff Anderson held a Jan. 6 press conference outside the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, claiming that Cordileone had promised to issue such a list three years earlier, but had not done so.
Nation’s top lawmakers to meet after Catholic Church found not liable for clerical abuse
Bishop Paul Bird
December 31, 2024
The High Court ruled in November that the Ballarat diocese, in regional Victoria, could not be held responsible for misconduct by its former priest, Father Bryan Coffey, because he could not be legally considered an employee of the church.
Bishop Paul Bird
December 31, 2024
The High Court ruled in November that the Ballarat diocese, in regional Victoria, could not be held responsible for misconduct by its former priest, Father Bryan Coffey, because he could not be legally considered an employee of the church.
Pope Francis and practising what one preaches
Oct 18, 2024
‘There is no room for abuse in the church. I ask everyone, don’t cover up abuse! Evil must not be hidden, it must be in the open … so that the abuser is judged, whether they be a layman or a laywoman, a priest or a bishop, that they be judged. The word of God is clear.’
Oct 18, 2024
‘There is no room for abuse in the church. I ask everyone, don’t cover up abuse! Evil must not be hidden, it must be in the open … so that the abuser is judged, whether they be a layman or a laywoman, a priest or a bishop, that they be judged. The word of God is clear.’
Maria felt pressured to sign an NDA after being sexually harassed. Now she’s speaking out against the practice
November 29, 2024
Hopes are rising that a push for change in Victoria means victims will no longer be ‘badgered into silence’
The strict terms of the NDA meant Maria couldn’t speak to anyone about the alleged harassment.
November 29, 2024
Hopes are rising that a push for change in Victoria means victims will no longer be ‘badgered into silence’
The strict terms of the NDA meant Maria couldn’t speak to anyone about the alleged harassment.
Odd Spot A plague of Jesuits
There are 13,768 Jesuits in the world: 9,987 of which are priests, 718 brothers, 2,439 scholastics in studies and 624 novices.
These men are present in 72 Jesuit Provinces and Regions in 110 countries on all the continents.
The largest, wealthiest most influential catholic order in the world.
There are 13,768 Jesuits in the world: 9,987 of which are priests, 718 brothers, 2,439 scholastics in studies and 624 novices.
These men are present in 72 Jesuit Provinces and Regions in 110 countries on all the continents.
The largest, wealthiest most influential catholic order in the world.
its actually the Eldon Hogan Performing Arts Centre. Eldon Hogan was a sex abuser of many boys in the early 1960's. His trust gives millions of dollars to Xavier College, for this building, school prizes, publishing books, buying artworks, buying a rowing eight even staff dinners.
Many hundreds of students and others like these mums use the building every day.
Calls for his name to removed have been completely ignored.
♦ more about Eldon Hogan here
Messages of support
Message of support from a survivor.
Hi Mark,
Hang in there and stay strong. All you can do is what you think is the best thing for you.
You have done a fantastic job over the past 5 years with your website holding them to account and letting other survivors know that they were not the only one, and that there were many abusers in the Order.
Keep fighting for your child self who had no one to protect him.
Kind regards,
______________________________
Very strangely, a barrister for the Jesuits said that this website was harming survivors by showing how hard it is to get justice and that would make them reluctant to seek compensation.
Hi Mark,
Hang in there and stay strong. All you can do is what you think is the best thing for you.
You have done a fantastic job over the past 5 years with your website holding them to account and letting other survivors know that they were not the only one, and that there were many abusers in the Order.
Keep fighting for your child self who had no one to protect him.
Kind regards,
______________________________
Very strangely, a barrister for the Jesuits said that this website was harming survivors by showing how hard it is to get justice and that would make them reluctant to seek compensation.
More messages:
"And so the abuse continues.
Emotional abuse if the worst kind.
Continuing their display of power.
There really is a special place in hell for these people"
"It’s reabuse
Patent reabuse of the adult survivor
No admissions
No apology
No remorse
Invoking and evoking terror in the claimant
That terror, I contend, was a major contributing factor in the completed suicide of our friend Jesuit victim (name redacted)
Actively silencing victims and terrifying them is reabusive and dangerously destructive
Whereas, justice has therapeutic effect."
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
(Dylan Thomas)
"And so the abuse continues.
Emotional abuse if the worst kind.
Continuing their display of power.
There really is a special place in hell for these people"
"It’s reabuse
Patent reabuse of the adult survivor
No admissions
No apology
No remorse
Invoking and evoking terror in the claimant
That terror, I contend, was a major contributing factor in the completed suicide of our friend Jesuit victim (name redacted)
Actively silencing victims and terrifying them is reabusive and dangerously destructive
Whereas, justice has therapeutic effect."
In their own words
Xavier College grapples with historical sex abuse claimsJanuary 26, 2020
Staff inside the church division, which is led by former Australian Federal Police officer Simon Davies, say they take a survivor-led approach, which means they are unlikely to take any action against the website administrators.
The administrators of the website argue that the school’s approach lacks the transparency needed to prompt survivors to step forward with their complaints. They say that many survivors often suffer in isolation and have no idea their abusers also preyed on other students.
It is understood some Jesuits have had contact with the Xavier old boys who run the website,
but have stopped short of telling them how to run it, or to pull it down, as part of an approach to let survivors respond how they want.
♦ www.theage.com.au
"...there are serious matters warranting resolution.
It may be reasonably expected that the Society is or will be conducting further investigations into these matters. In my view, it is highly desirable that it do so."
It may be reasonably expected that the Society is or will be conducting further investigations into these matters. In my view, it is highly desirable that it do so."
"The Society has made further inquiries with Xavier's archivist who has confirmed
that there are no records relating to any students prior to 1980
(other than being able to confirm a student attended the School)
as they were all destroyed for the purpose of saving space. "
Marilyn Warren, Victor Higgs investigation.
"As Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Australia, I am committed to facing the truth about the abuse of children
and young people that has occurred in our past and the terrible effects it has had on their adult lives."
Brian McCoy SJ, Provincial 2015 - 2020 What do you say to the survivors of abuse?
We deeply regret the pain and suffering that has been caused by a number of our community.
Words will never heal the suffering, but we unreservedly apologise for the trauma caused by any
member of our Society who betrayed others in this way. We are committed to doing all we
can to prevent any further incidents and will continue to offer support for survivors and their families.
Words will never heal the suffering, but we unreservedly apologise for the trauma caused by any
member of our Society who betrayed others in this way. We are committed to doing all we
can to prevent any further incidents and will continue to offer support for survivors and their families.
Will you accept the Royal Commission’s recommendations?
We are likely to accept all the Royal Commission’s recommendations unless any of them conflict with
Canon or Jesuit Law (which is unlikely) and we urge all Australian Governments to accept and implement all of the recommendations also.
Canon or Jesuit Law (which is unlikely) and we urge all Australian Governments to accept and implement all of the recommendations also.
Why have you failed to deal with child abusers in the past?
Clearly mistakes have been made in the past which have caused great suffering.
For that, we give our unreserved apology to the survivors and their families.
We don’t believe there was an intentional systemic failure but we clearly failed to protect children and young people.
We can’t change the past, but we can do everything possible to maintain a safe environment now and into the future.
The measures we have announced today are important steps in this ongoing journey.
For that, we give our unreserved apology to the survivors and their families.
We don’t believe there was an intentional systemic failure but we clearly failed to protect children and young people.
We can’t change the past, but we can do everything possible to maintain a safe environment now and into the future.
The measures we have announced today are important steps in this ongoing journey.
Brian McCoy SJ, Provincial 2015 - 2020
February 20, 2019
“we commit ourselves to help eliminate abuses inside and outside the Church, seeking to ensure that victims
are heard and properly helped, that justice is done, and that harm is healed.”
are heard and properly helped, that justice is done, and that harm is healed.”
Arturo Sosa, SJ, the superior general of the Society of Jesus
Professor Stephen Smallbone is also a member of the Society of Jesus Consultative Panel.
In the Tasmanian inquiry Professor Smallbone found the Department of Education's response was "to ignore students, shield abusers and protect itself from legal, financial and reputational risks " .....
There are major identified deficiencies in how allegations of sexual abuse in public schools are recorded and handled to this day."
Professor Smallbone advised former Jesuit Provincial Brian McCoy s.j. that it would be a "denial of natural justice" to publish the names of alleged sex offenders.
"We are committed to owning the past"
William Doherty, Xavier College Principal
"The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all."
George Pell" Let’s speak truth to power. Let’s enact justice where there is oppression. "
Bill Uren SJ
"The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced.
But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it,
or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity."
...We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.
Pope Francis, Vatican City, Aug. 20, 2018
...We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.
"In his letter of October 7, 2015 our Provincial, Fr Brian McCoy SJ, himself an old boy of Xavier,
committed the Australian Province in this Year of Mercy, to ongoing support of those “who have been wounded, felt rejected or abused in any of our works."
"The Province does not believe that the complaints made against Fr Stephenson have been substantiated, but nor has it dismissed the allegations as being wrong. It believes that, on the available evidence, there is room for genuine misunderstanding as to his intentions, as is explicitly acknowledged by one complainant. "
"The Province does not believe that the complaints made against Fr Stephenson have been substantiated, but nor has it dismissed the allegations as being wrong. It believes that, on the available evidence, there is room for genuine misunderstanding as to his intentions, as is explicitly acknowledged by one complainant. "
Chris Middleton SJ, Xavier College Rector
"I had been exposed to the human condition as a policeman and witnessed extreme depravity.
However, I had not witnessed this moral corruption in the context of a faith organisation that proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
This was at odds with my childhood experiences growing up in the church and has taken me a long time to reconcile."
However, I had not witnessed this moral corruption in the context of a faith organisation that proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
This was at odds with my childhood experiences growing up in the church and has taken me a long time to reconcile."
Simon Davies, Society of Jesus Director of Professional Standards
"For many, this is a difficult and painful matter, but is one that we must own and be proactive in responding to for it is inextricably
entwined with the care of all Xaverians and is central to our mission and values."
From the press release letter to Old Xaverians. Signed by William Doherty, Chris Middleton SJ (Rector) and Tony Nunan (Chair of Board)
Sept. 26, 2023
Tasmanian commission of inquiry report into institutional child sexual abuse
5.3 Effects of institutional responses
How an institution responds to a child or young person who discloses abuse can either compound the distress and trauma they experience, or it can contribute to their healing and sense of justice.
Inappropriate responses—including disbelief, hostility, or non- supportive and dismissive responses—can compound the negative effects of abuse and retraumatise a victim-survivor
...adopting an adversarial, delayed or overcomplicated approach to redressing the abuse—further compound the trauma of the abuse for victim- survivors.
'Institutional betrayal' describes the experience of a victim-survivor who is harmed
by a trusted and powerful institution on which they depend for their security and wellbeing.
Institutional betrayal can refer to the failure of an institution to provide a safe environment for a victim-survivor, therefore putting that person at risk.
It also refers to institutions that do not act once a disclosure of abuse is made, which can result in the continuation of abuse of the victim-survivor or other children.199 We identified
a sense of institutional betrayal in many of the victim-survivors and staff in the out of home care system, youth detention, schools and hospitals.
Victim-survivors reported to the National Royal Commission and to our Inquiry that being silenced or disbelieved after disclosure, punished, blamed for the abuse, or accused of lying, resulted in intense feelings of injustice, anger and shame.
Victim-survivors reported to us that poor institutional responses to their disclosures
of abuse had adversely affected their capacity to work, participate in society and to trust or engage with institutions in general.
The complaints policy and procedure should be published on the Department’s website.
"We will continue to listen, consult, be open to criticism from people, including lay people, who are strong enough to give us honest, robust, reasonable, evidence-based feedback."
Brian McCoy SJ, former Jesuit provincial. MEDIA RELEASE 17 December 2018
The revelations never end about priests and brothers, of monsignors and bishops with their secret sexual lives, masturbating, buggerizing, sodomizing and raping boys and girls – protected by an amoral hierarchy and a few corrupt members of the upper-echelons of various police forces.
Chris Geraghty (former priest and NSW Judge)
Betrayal Trauma
Betrayal Trauma: The phrase "betrayal trauma" can be used to refer to a kind of trauma independent of the reaction to the trauma.
From Freyd (2008): Betrayal trauma occurs when the people or institutions on which a person depends for survival significantly violate that person’ s trust or well-being: Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver are examples of betrayal trauma.
Betrayal Trauma Theory: From Sivers, Schooler, & Freyd (2002): A theory that predicts that the degree to which a negative event represents a betrayal by a trusted needed other will influence the way in which that events is processed and remembered.
♦ dynamic.uoregon.edu
