Gloriavale’s apology for historical abuse labelled ‘pathetic’ by leavers

Gloriavale’s apology for historical abuse labelled ‘pathetic’ by leavers

| Stuff | Shilpy Arora|

A West Coast fundamentalist Christian community has offered “deepest apologies” after admitting historic abuse occurred to people in their care over four decades.

Gloriavale leaders on Sunday said they were “deeply sorry” after the Royal Commission of Inquiry found abuse took place in the church community between 1950 and 1999.

“The church at Gloriavale acknowledges that the royal commission … found that abuse happened in this church community. We accept the royal commission’s recommendation to ensure the ongoing safety of people in our care,” they said in a statement.

But former members of the community have questioned the legitimacy of the apology, labelling it as “pathetic”, saying: “actions speak louder than words.”

The leaders thanked to members who reported abuse and acknowledged the leadership at the time did not report the “known cases of abuse” to authorities.

An apology letter issued by Howard Temple on behalf of the Shepherds of the Church at Gloriavale said the members were entitled to a safe and supportive environment, and “we failed to provide that”.

 “To the people of Gloriavale and those who were part of the community that experienced this abuse while amongst us, we write to you with profound sorrow, acknowledging the pain and suffering that has been experienced by victims and families while within our church group,” Temple said.

“We recognise the impact that abuse has had on your lives and sympathise with your pain.

“The vision for the community life was to provide a safe and supportive environment, but this was taken advantage of. The trust that should have been honoured was broken, and for that, we are deeply sorry.”

The leaders said they created a page on their website to support the victims.

“We will continue to listen to victims, and to support them to heal and receive redress.

“To this end, the church is creating a page on its website where people can report abuse and find support from external agencies. We invite victims to request a personal apology from the leadership on behalf of the church for not reporting known cases of abuse to appropriate authorities.”

Reacting to the apology, leaver Virginia Courage said Gloriavale could not convince anyone with their words because they had told so many lies. “No one trusts their words. A real apology will actually be something physical and tangible that can be seen, an action, and they won’t need words.”

The apology didn’t recognise how the community got to the point of having such a level of abuse, Courage said, which started with an imbalance of power with the Overseeing Shepherd. Nothing about the findings of the Royal Commission was specifically mentioned in the apology.

“They’re trying to say the smallest amount but keep it so that nothing can be used against them.”

Gideon Benjamin left Gloriavale in February 2023 and hadn’t spoken out publicly against the community, until he read its apology on Sunday. “It’s pretty pathetic really”, he said. “They’ve put in there that [the apology] is on behalf of the church. It’s the leaders that should be apologising.”

Benjamin questioned whether the community’s leaders were actually sorry, or whether the apology, which took months to come, was only made to save face.

“It doesn’t sound like remorse to me.”

Unimpressed by the apology, Benjamin said he emailed the community directly telling them that actions speak louder than words, and that they should think about compensating victims if they want New Zealand to take them seriously.

Gloriavale has not yet committed to paying compensation to victims.

In December, Abuse in Care Response Minister Erica Stanford said work was under way to design a redress system for all survivors of abuse in care.

Gloriavale, which is home to about 600 residents, has been at the centre of significant controversy, particularly in the last decade as leavers, investigations and court cases have revealed details of workplace exploitation and physical and sexual abuse there.

Originally based in North Canterbury after being founded in 1969 by the late Neville Hooper, the sect moved to its current West Coast site on the shores of Lake Haupiri in the early 1990s.