Mike Bain/cvnznews.com
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand) has criticised the Society of Mary for refusing to revisit a historical abuse settlement despite the findings of the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care and ongoing discussions about redress reform.
Although the Catholic order has repeatedly claimed to have learned the lessons of the Royal Commission, its recent handling of a survivor’s request tells a different story. After reviewing the plea for reconsideration, the order informed the survivor that it considers the 2019 Deed of Settlement final and will not revisit the redress payment made at that time. A legally binding agreement, however, is not the same thing as justice.
This stance is especially troubling given the Royal Commission’s conclusion that past redress processes often operated within stark power imbalances and failed to reflect the lifelong impacts of abuse.
More concerning still was the reasoning offered. In outlining its position, the order’s provincial leader, Mervyn Duffy, highlighted that the abuse occurred only once, that the survivor resisted further assault, that no other complaints are known against the deceased priest, and that counselling was later provided. The implication is unmistakable: that harm may somehow be considered less serious because it happened on a single occasion, because a child resisted, or because no additional disclosures have surfaced.
This is precisely the mindset the Royal Commission exposed—an institutional lens that minimises lived experience and reduces abuse to administrative categories.
The Commission also recognised that many settlements were reached before the full scale and lifelong consequences of clerical abuse were understood. That is why governments, churches, and survivor advocates are now discussing reassessment and top‑up payments. The real question is not whether a document was signed, but whether justice was delivered.
“Legal closure is not moral accountability,” said spokesperson Barbara Taylor. “A religious order that invokes the Gospel while relying on technical settlements to avoid confronting inadequate outcomes risks repeating exactly the institutional failures it claims to regret.”
The deeper issue facing the order is simple: does it genuinely accept the spirit of the Royal Commission, or only the parts that require no meaningful change? Survivors have heard countless apologies. What they are still waiting for is action.
SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand calls on the order to reconsider its position, enter good‑faith discussions about historical redress outcomes, and demonstrate that its stated commitment to the Royal Commission’s findings extends beyond public statements.
About SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is an independent support and advocacy organisation working with survivors of religious and institutional abuse and advocating for accountability, justice, and safeguarding reform.
