Marist Brother Called "a Coward and a Liar" at Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission
By David Marchese
A fiery exchange at the child sex abuse royal commission has seen the former principal of a Marist Brothers high school in Newcastle labelled a "coward and a liar", after saying he cannot remember the circumstances surrounding a boy's suicide. Christopher Wade was questioned for a second day at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse hearing into the Hunter region's Catholic Church. Brother Christopher was principal of the Marist Brothers' Hamilton school during the 1970s, when 13-year-old student Andrew Nash killed himself after he was sexually abused by a teacher. Brother Christopher told the commission today he "could not remember" going to the Nash family home the night of the death, when Andrew's mother Audrey recalled paedophile Francis Cable, known as Brother Romuald, asked her if her son "left a note" or "said anything". Mrs Nash's barrister, Hilbert Chiu, became heated Mrs Nash's barrister, Hilbert Chiu, became heated during his questioning of Brother Christopher: Mr Chiu: You were relieved that Andrew told nobody before he died. Brother Christopher: That's not true. Mr Chiu: You were relieved because in your mind the problem had gone away. Brother Christopher: That's not true. Mr Chiu: And when Brother Romuald moved schools two months later you were even more relieved because he was no longer your problem. Brother Christopher: That's not true. Mr Chiu ended his grilling of Brother Christopher with an accusation. "You're pretending that you don't remember that evening because you're a coward and you're a liar." Brother Christopher denied the suggestion. Yesterday, the inquiry heard from a classmate of Andrew Nash who said he is certain the boy was being abused by Brother Romuald and perhaps another teacher, Brother Dominic. Brother Romuald was sentenced to 16 years' jail last year after being convicted of dozens of child abuse charges. He has denied requests to speak with him about the death of Andrew Nash. Marist Brothers concede boy was abused
The current head of the Marist Brothers in Australia, Brother Peter Carroll, apologised to the Nash family today, acknowledging their pain. Brother Peter then admitted it was likely Andrew Nash was abused by a Marist Brother in the 1970s. "I want to acknowledge today in public that I accept on behalf of the Marist Brothers that all the evidence points to Andrew having been sexually abused and the evidence also points to Andrew having taken his own life." Brother Peter then slammed remarks by another church official that the death was a "p Brother Peter then slammed remarks by another church official that the death was a "prank gone wrong" or that other members of the Nash family may have been involved. "Any suggestion that they were is completely wrong and hurtful to the family," he said. "Such comments immeasurably compounded the family's pain and sense of loss." Brother Peter said he had agreed with a request from the Nash family to look into the matter further, saying he has already started the process. He also acknowledged the Marist Brothers' response to abuse allegations over decades was "entirely inadequate", with leaders failing to take "strong decisive action". "Our responses were naive, uninformed, even callous at times," he said. Brother Peter said the Marist Brothers are currently preparing a research project to answer the 'why question'. "Why have Brothers offended in the way they have over the time they have?" he told the commission. "We will review the information, the psychological assessments we have of offending Brothers to try to see what some of the reasons were. It's an attempt to do something." Commission thanks journalists for 'recognising suffering'
The commission hearing concluded this afternoon, wrapping up four weeks of royal commission hearings probing Newcastle's Anglican and Catholic dioceses. "It was very important for the royal commission to come here to Newcastle," commission chair Justice Peter McClellan said. "We should all acknowledge that the work of the commission is founded upon the suffering of a great many people across many institutions throughout Australian society." Justice McClellan singled out the work of the Newcastle Herald, which started the 'Shine the Light' campaign, calling for a royal commission. "It is important I think that we all acknowledge that the suffering of so many in Newcastle was recognised first by journalists and brought forward by the Newcastle Herald," he said. "Without those efforts, it is unlikely that this royal commission would have taken place." Justice McClellan said there is a real opportunity for those who suffered to heal and to ensure the failures of the past "don't happen in the future". The royal commission will resume its investigation into Newcastle's Anglican diocese in Sydney in November.
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