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PATHWAYS VICTORIA

https://www.pathwaysvictoria.com/

Proposal for Consultation

Restorative journeying with Survivors

of Abuse within the Catholic Church

Pathways Victoria would firstly like to acknowledge the lived experience of survivors, their families and communities who have been impacted by Catholic abuse in all its forms.

The Catholic Church and religious institutions in Victoria are committed to a safe environment for all children and vulnerable persons with safeguarding embedded within its culture and operations. Clergy, employees and volunteers are committed to upholding the right to safety of all persons, and participating in a creating a culture of safety supported by policies, practices and procedures that strive to prevent abuse in the first instance and to respond appropriately and effectively if abuse does occur.

Within the Catholic Church and participating religious institutions in Victoria there are currently two models that are available to respond to complaints of historic abuse: Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response. Nationally, there is also now the National Redress Scheme and civil litigation for those who seek compensation to redress past abuse.

In light of our contemporary understanding of the impact of abuse and trauma, the Catholic Church and participating religious institutions in Victoria have committed to the development of a consistent and state wide model of responding to complaints. The new approach, called Pathways Victoria, will implement a set of compassionate, just and appropriately resourced professional standards processes based on the National Response Protocol. It will incorporate features from Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response, effectively bringing their processes to a conclusion and providing a new process to investigate complaints and compensate and care for victims. Those who currently receive supports through Carelink will continue to do so. The Pathways Victoria model will offer an alternative to existing mechanisms such as the National Redress Scheme and civil litigation for those who may wish to engage in a pastoral response.

It is the hope that a sense of grace will be the light that shines through the new Pathways Model as it considers:

the direct experiential feedback from victims, survivors and their families on the impact and effect of institutional abuse and redress processes
the lessons from the multiple inquiries and report findings.

Consultation with victims and survivors who have engaged in the Melbourne Response or Towards Healing will be sought in addition to advice and input from related professionals, victim advocates and others who have been impacted in the community. This input will both inform and shape the way in which the Catholic Church in Victoria responds to future complaints of abuse with the voices of those with lived experience vital to our commitment of restorative journeying with adult survivors of abuse.

Through the Pathways Victoria model and processes, the Church and participating religious institutions seek to take responsibility for addressing wrongs that have been committed. The model responds to the need of those who wish to connect at a pastoral level with a one-to-one connection with a care coordinator who will walk alongside victims and survivors on their journey. It facilitates a compassionate approach with the opportunity to restore faith and trust with every step of engagement.

We look forward to providing you with further information as the project develops. If you would like to be involved in the Pathways Victoria project, please click the link below to add yourself to our mailing list.

The Pathways Victoria name.

A small brainstorming group (committee) was formed to generate discussion and consideration of a proposed name for the new model. This group consisted of a survivor of abuse who has engaged in the Melbourne Response who is also a counsellor currently studying spiritual direction alongside a communications manager and a pastoral wellbeing team leader.

Following discussion and further reflection, we brainstormed possible names/phrases, arriving at the final name of Pathways Victoria.

The group proposed Pathways as:

It describes a program with multiple options; multiple ways—flexible and dynamic rather than there only being one right way
Pathways speaks to action and movement; there’s a sense of ownership and choosing to be a survivor—it’s a journey that I choose
Whichever way the survivor may feel, we believe they enter the process with hope—as does the Church—and it becomes a process of accompaniment.

CARE AND SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS

The Pathways Victoria Model will be underpinned throughout by trauma informed care and practice principles. Trauma-informed care has emerged from the growing awareness of the impacts of trauma on victims/survivors of child sexual abuse and recognition that human service systems need to avoid inadvertently re-traumatising survivors of child sexual abuse.

As a trauma-informed service, Pathways will implement an understanding of trauma in all aspects of service delivery and prioritise the individual’s safety, choice and control, while establishing connectedness through a relationship built on trust.

Pastorally led, Pathways Victoria will provide an opportunity to promote healing as Care Coordinators walk alongside victims once they have made their disclosure and the report prepared by the Complaints and Redress Director, survivors on their journey to acknowledgement from the Church and provision of care and resolution.

Guided by a dedicated Care Coordinator from beginning to end, survivors seeking redress will navigate the Pathways Model at their own pace with expert professional supports available at all times. Their pastorally led road to healing and recovery will begin with disclosure to the Complaints and Redress Director where their past and present experiences are acknowledged.

The personal approach to promote healing, spiritual restoration and wellbeing cannot be overstated. Regardless of personal beliefs, spirituality and religion are foundational aspects of culture, experience and behaviour. Pathways recognises the spirituality embedded in individuals and human connections.

For some survivors, the possibility of acknowledgement and restoration associated with the Church can be helpful for their healing.

Where does this Proposal come from?

This model for Pathways Victoria has been developed by a project group chaired by Ms Janet Cribbes, with input from a range of professions and experiences, including legal, psychological, social work, safeguarding, survivor voices and Church Authorities.

The development was overseen and guided by a Provincial Working Group co-chaired by Bishop Shane Mackinlay (Diocese of Sandhurst) and Sister Monica Walsh RGS (Provincial, Good Shepherd Sisters), with Archbishop Peter Comensoli (Archdiocese of Melbourne) and Sister Veronica Hoey SGS (President, Victorian Towards Healing Association).

Published: April 2021

1. Introduction

1 Sexual abuse causes incalculable damage for those who have been abused, their families and the broader community. “Everyone, but particularly those with responsibility for the care of others, must be accountable for any situation in which a safe environment is diminished or threatened.

The National Protocol for Church Authorities Responding to Concerns and Allegations of Abuse by Personnel of the Catholic Church in Australia is a most important commitment to

the development of a culture of safety, defined by transparency and accountability. This we

owe to those whose lives have been forever affected by abuse, their families, their loved

ones and the entire People of God.” (NRP, p5)

2 Within the Catholic Church in Victoria there are currently two models that are available

to respond to complaints of historic abuse: Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response.

Nationally, there is now the National Redress Scheme and civil litigation for those who seek compensation to redress past abuse.

3 The Melbourne Response and Towards Healing are coming to an end (with the exception of Carelink, which will continue to provide services to its current clients). There is a need to develop a new model and this document outlines the proposed model for consultation.

The new entity, called Pathways Victoria, will implement a set of compassionate, just and appropriately resourced processes that implement the National Response Protocol. It will incorporate features from Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response, building on their strengths and effectively bringing their processes to a conclusion and providing a new process to investigate complaints and compensate and care for survivors. The Pathways Model will offer an alternative to existing mechanisms such as the National Redress Scheme and civil litigation.

4 In developing Pathways Victoria, the process considers previous reviews of the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing models, along with survivor feedback. There has also been focus on the effect and nature of the trauma and acknowledgement of the need for restoration and connectedness between survivors, victims and the Church to offer a much-needed road to healing.

5 The Church has acted to address the recommendations of the Royal Commission. ‘Safeguarding’ has become the cornerstone of each diocese and religious institution, guided by the central teaching of Jesus and the Church to “love one another as I have loved you”. It is the hope that a sense of grace will be the light that shines through the new Pathways Model as it considers:

• the direct experiential feedback from survivors and their families on the impact and effect of institutional abuse and redress processes

• the lessons from the multiple inquiries and report findings.

6 Through the Pathways Model and processes, Church Authorities seek to take responsibility for addressing wrongs that have been committed. The model responds to the need of those who wish to connect at a pastoral level with a Care Coordinator who will walk alongside survivors on their journey. It facilitates a compassionate approach with the opportunity to restore faith and trust with every step of engagement.

7 The Pathways Model offers a governance structure that includes independent investigations and processes for seeking redress. Care Coordination offers survivors a

single service and a dedicated care worker with whom to share their experiences, who will guide them as they participate in investigations, and secure redress through a resolution process.

8 A key characteristic of the Pathways Model is that it is put forward by the Church. It offers a pathway where survivors are listened to, acknowledged, compensated and cared

for. For those who seek it, survivors have an opportunity to reconnect spiritually, with the

restoration of links with the Church community.

9 The impact on the spiritual wellbeing of many survivors has resulted in internal conflicts between their spiritual faith and their relationship to Catholic institutions. This dissonance can often extend to a loss of connection to the self, family and community. In the process of healing, Pathways can facilitate survivor reconnection to pastoral care and/or consultation with a spiritual advisor and support the spiritual journey toward restoration and wellbeing. The Care Coordinator can coordinate pastoral, religious or spiritual support counselling for survivors who may feel displaced from their spiritual connectedness to God and the Church. The Care Coordination model can connect survivors with experienced external psychologists for those who may wish to engage in professional therapeutic supports as part of their recovery.

Scope of Complaints

What misconduct does the Pathways Model cover?

10 The process covers a wide range of misconduct by Church personnel including

• neglect or maltreatment, and physical, psychological or sexual abuse of children

or vulnerable adults causing physical or psychological harm

• other acts of a sexual nature which may be an offence under Victorian legislation

and where the act does not occur in the workplace of a lay employee

• adult boundary violations (i.e. consensual sexual relations) which cause physical or psychological harm

• sexual misconduct, such as grooming or possessing child pornography, as defined in the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)

• ‘inappropriate or unreasonable acts or omissions of Church personnel who had

knowledge of conduct of another Church person involving child abuse.’1

Which types of Church people are subject to the process?

11 A complaint may be made about the conduct of any person who is or was at any relevant time:

(a) a member of the clergy

(b) a lay pastoral minister

(d) a Church employee, office holder or volunteer

(e) any of the above who are deceased.

Where a complaint is made against a current employee, the Pathways process will only apply if the complaint is not subject to another statutory regime or to a contractual employment relationship, unless the complaint is referred to Pathways by an employer.

As a matter of nomenclature, it is proposed to refer to a person in this context as a Church person rather than a Church worker and Church personnel rather than Church workers.

2. Underpinning Framework and Context

Underpinning Principles

12 The Pathways Model will be underpinned throughout by trauma-informed care and practice principles. Trauma-informed care has emerged from the growing awareness of the

impacts of trauma on survivors of child sexual abuse and recognition that human service

systems need to avoid inadvertently re-traumatising survivors of child sexual abuse.

13 As a trauma-informed service, Pathways will aim to implement an understanding of trauma in all aspects of service delivery and prioritise the individual’s safety, choice and control, while establishing connectedness through a relationship built on trust.

14 Trauma-informed care is a cultural and systemic change in approach that is reflected at all levels of the service system:

“to provide trauma-informed services, all staff of an organization, from the receptionist to the direct care worker to the board of directors, must understand how violence impacts on the lives of the people being served, so that every interaction is consistent with the recovery process and reduces the possibility of retraumatization” (Elliot et al., 2005, p.462).

15 Trauma-informed care has been expressed in the Australian context in similar terms.

For example, the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner (MHCC) states that traumainformed care:

“exemplifies a ‘new generation’ of transformed mental health and human service organisations and programs that serve people with histories of trauma. Responding appropriately to trauma and its effects requires knowledge and understanding of trauma, workforce education and training, and collaboration between consumers and carers, policymakers and service providers, and crosses service systems. It involves not only changing assumptions about how we organise and provide services, build workforce capacity and supervise workers, but creates organisational cultures that are personal, holistic, creative, open, safe and therapeutic (MHCC, 2013, p.5).

16 Pastorally led, Pathways will provide an opportunity to promote healing as Care Coordinators walk alongside survivors on their journey to acknowledgement from the Church and provision of care and resolution.

17 Guided by a dedicated Care Coordinator from beginning to end, survivors seeking redress will navigate the Pathways Model at their own pace with expert professional supports available. Their pastorally led road to healing and recovery will begin with disclosure to the Complaints and Redress Director where their past and present experiences are listened to respectfully and recorded in a disclosure report.

18 The personal approach to promote healing, spiritual restoration and wellbeing cannot be overstated. Regardless of personal beliefs, spirituality and religion are foundational aspects of culture, experience and behaviour. Pathways recognises the spirituality deeply embedded in individuals and human connections.

19 For some survivors, the possibility of acknowledgement and restoration associated with the Church can be helpful for their healing.

20 The Pathways Model seeks to provide a compassionate, fair, transparent and accountable process for complaint handling that:

• respects both complainants and respondents

• upholds the standards and integrity of the Gospel and contemporary insights into

best-practice

• promotes the safety of children and adults with whom the Church engages

• respects the primacy of police investigations

• complies with CCYP and canon law requirements.

21 RMIT University’s Innovative justice responses to sexual offending – Pathways to better outcomes for victims, offenders and the community (2014) includes an outline of effective sexual offence restorative justice conferencing. It provides that the focus of restorative engagement should be on healing, offender accountability, community

restoration and redress for harm and loss caused.

22 Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasises repairing the harm caused to victims of crime. It is best accomplished through a collaborative approach that facilitates

willing stakeholders to meet, although other approaches are available when that is impossible. This can lead to transformation of people, relationships and communities. In other words, those who have experienced abuse have an opportunity to influence and change safeguarding within the institution responsible for the abuse in addition to receiving a meaningful acknowledgement of the harm caused. The Pathways Model proposes to support restorative justice by emphasising the role of the survivor as central to the process, collaboratively working at their pace and facilitating an opportunity to meet with

representatives of the Church Authority.

3. Structure

23 Pathways will manage complaints about sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults within the Catholic Church in Victoria and their claims for redress. It will be distinct from Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd, which sets standards to avoid or minimise the risk of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults and audits and oversees Catholic institutions in their observance of those standards. The functions of these two bodies will complement one another.

24 This section explores some questions likely to arise during the consultation.

Will Pathways be independent?

25 Pathways will be established by the Church as an entity with its own governing board and functional independence. The members of its governing board would include diverse lay men and women with professional expertise in areas such as governance, law, education, child protection, human services, ethics, psychology and counselling, safeguarding or regulation. The members of the entity would be the diocesan bishops and other religious provincials who choose to participate. The vehicle of a company limited by guarantee is under consideration. The governance will be mission led. The Care Unit and the Complaints and Redress Unit will be functionally independent of each other and governed by the board.

Explanation of Roles

The units within Pathways

26 Whilst closely connected, the Care Coordination Unit and the Complaints and Redress Unit operate functionally autonomous from one another. Both units are led by the respective roles of Executive Director and the Complaints and Redress Director with separate reporting obligations. Each unit has distinct and unique responsibilities with the Care Coordination unit largely providing external therapeutic supports. Ongoing collaborative relationships are central to the model with a holistic approach in providing care and support led by the Care Coordinators with external health service providers.

The Complaints and Redress Unit engages with claimants from the point of coming forward in hearing and reporting complaints until settlement of redress.

Contact thereafter ceases.

Executive Director

27 The title of Executive Director is used in the not-for-profit sector whereas CEO is used in the for profit or large not-for-profits. The Executive Director oversees the staffing, financial management maintaining records, compliance and strategic direction. In Pathways there will be a peer relationship with the Complaints and Redress Director, as

both are appointed by the Board, and have autonomous functions. However, in this instance the Executive Director will have oversight of Pathways and all its functions, ensuring a central point of information to enable smooth and effective relationships between the two units.

28 In addition, the Executive Director provides oversight of the Care Coordination model. The Executive Director has delegated authority to provide approvals regarding client

episodes of care and other financial delegations in addition to stakeholder management of external health service providers.

Complaints and Redress Director

29 The Complaints and Redress Director is appointed by and reports to the governing body.3 The Director liaises with the Executive Director for operational matters. The Director has delegated authority from the governing board to oversee and manage the complaints process and the redress process with the Complaints Committee and the Redress Panel. Skilled in engaging with adults who have experienced abuse, the person

in this role will hear first-hand accounts of complaints and be responsible for all communication with complainants about the complaint and redress process. The Director liaises with Church Authorities and reports to and prepares relevant reports for the Complaints Committee, Assessment Panel and Redress Panel. The Director also has

authority to source and provide direction to the independent investigator, refer complainants for therapeutic supports to the Care Coordinator and assist Church Authorities with reporting obligations to external bodies such as CCYP and the Police.

8. Conclusion

149 This document provides a summary of a proposal for consideration by the Provincial Working Group members to implement the National Response Protocol and replace the current models of the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing for managing complaints and redress. The new Pathways Model maintains elements of both models that are of value.

150 It is proposed that:

• Care Coordination services be integrated into the Pathways Model and underpin the way in which victims and survivors engage in the scheme with Carelink services continuing for existing clients.

• The complaints process outlined above be adopted.

• The Pathways Model operate for a term of three years with a review before the end of the third year of operation or earlier if required.

• The Pathways Model operate as an autonomous entity, that the governance structure include diverse lay men and women with professional expertise in governance, law, education, child protection, human services, safeguarding, finance and regulation, and that a company limited by guarantee be considered.

• An independent Assessment Panel be established within the Pathways Model to adjudicate on complaints referred to it from the Pathways Complaints Committee.

• There will be occasions when the Commissioner for Children and Young People will need a particular investigation to satisfy requirements under its legislation.