Sarah McMillan/cvnznews.com
A survivor of clerical child sexual abuse says the Catholic Church has failed a basic test of accountability after Archbishop Paul Martin declined to uphold his complaint alleging an institutional cover‑up within the Diocese of Hamilton.
Richard van der Hulst, who was abused as a child by Father Sebastian Palich, received a letter from the Archbishop on 26 August acknowledging his credibility and expressing “deep sorrow” — while simultaneously ruling that the Church could not find wrongdoing by the senior clergy Richard accused of protecting his abuser. The reason given: the Church “failed to keep adequate historical records” that might have corroborated his complaint.
The finding has drawn scrutiny because a supplementary investigation report, commissioned by the Church itself, records that former Bishop Edward Gaines destroyed relevant documents. Richard says Bishop Richard Laurenson later told him those records had “gone through the shredder”.
Despite this, the Complaints Assessment Committee concluded it had “no evidence” showing when Bishop Denis Browne became aware of Palich’s offending or whether any action was taken. Yet the same report notes another complainant raised concerns about Palich as early as 1965, and that before his death in 1989 he was “known to be a paedophile” and believed to have been quietly retired.
Survivor advocates say the Archbishop’s decision highlights a recurring problem: institutional record‑keeping failures being used as grounds to avoid findings of responsibility. “Absence of documentation is not evidence of innocence,” said SNAP Aotearoa spokesperson Anne‑Marie Tuck. “When records are destroyed, the benefit should never fall to the institution that failed to preserve them.”
Archbishop Martin said his decision followed “prayerful reflection and careful deliberation” and emphasised that it was not a judgment on Richard’s credibility.
Richard says the outcome leaves him believed in principle but denied justice in practice. “They apologised,” he said, “but when it mattered, they protected themselves.”
