Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry: Christ’s College cases could be at least 80, Bishop says

By Andrew McRae for RNZ

The Anglican bishop of Christchurch does not rule out that at least 80 former students of Christ’s College have been victims or mistreated while in his care.

On Thursday, Bishop Peter Carrell told the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care that he thought the number was around 30.

RNZ reported Friday that a survivor of school abuse, Jim Goodwin, had been told the number was much higher.

The extent of the historical abuse at Christ’s College in Christchurch is still unknown.

Bishop Carrell himself went to the school and, although he had a great time there, he is aware that this was not the case for everyone.

“There would be a variety of reasons why it would be a difficult time. Some of the ones we do know are due to abuse, that’s completely unsatisfactory.”

He said that up to 80 people could have been abused, given the number of children who had passed through the school over the years.

“This is a communication of an unsatisfactory school experience that may or may not include a specific complaint about abuse.”

Jim Goodwin went up to school and was sexually abused by three seniors in the early 1970s.

In 2020, she told the investigation about the abuse and that her housekeeper had found out.

“So I didn’t say anything to him, so I sat in his office trying not to cry and trying not to bleed in his chair because he was bleeding. He called all year together, I wouldn’t tell him who they were. He called them all and told them. that I would expel them if they touched me, and they never did it again, they said some things but they never touched me again. “

Jim Goodwin’s abuse did not trigger any formal investigation by the school or diocese.

The bishop sits on the board of Christ’s College and is the principal, a kind of pastoral overseer.

Bishop Carrell admits that better supervision of schools is needed, particularly in his diocese, where he is principal of several Anglican schools.

“How much more proactive could you be in the life of each school, if you like, without the school wondering why its principal had suddenly become so proactive.”

Archbishop Philip Richardson also addressed the witness stand and unreservedly apologized on behalf of the church to the survivors of the abuse.

He called it unacceptable and unforgivable.

“An apology, while sincere, can be viewed as incomplete without tangible redress processes and structural changes that prevent such embarrassing behavior from happening again.

“The Anglican Church has made substantial changes in the way it responds to incidents of abuse to ensure that its institutions are safe for all, especially those children, youth and vulnerable adults whom we care for and serve.”

Archbishop Richardson called any abused person within the church who had not come forward to do so at the Royal Commission.

The latest figures on abuse cases within the Anglican Church across the country are 132 from its churches, 168 from its care organizations and 248 from Anglican schools; a total of 548.