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Marist Brothers Acknowledge Newcastle Teenager Probably Sexually Abused before Suicide

The Guardian
September 8, 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/08/marist-brothers-acknowledge-newcastle-teenager-probably-sexually-abused-before-suicide

The former principal of the Newcastle Marist Brothers high school, William Wade (left), denied he knew Andrew Nash’s death had something to do with interference by convicted paedophile, Brother Romauld. Photograph: Rebekah Ison/AAP

The leader of the Marist Brothers in Australia has publicly acknowledged a 13-year-old Newcastle boy was probably sexually abused before his suicide more than 40 years ago.

Andrew Nash went to Marist Brothers high school at Hamilton where, the royal commission has heard, boys were groped in class, abused in a chapel and raped in an office.

The boy, who died in 1974, was in the daily care of two since-convicted paedophiles known as Brother Romuald and Brother Dominic, the royal commission has been told.

“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,” Australian Provincial Brother Peter Carroll told the sex abuse royal commission on Thursday.

“I express admiration for the way they [Andrew’s] family have summoned the courage to give evidence this week.”

Andrew’s 90-year-old mother, Audrey Nash, has testified she thinks Andrew was abused by Brother Romuald, whose real name is Francis Cable.

Other survivors believe he may have also been targeted by Brother Dominic.

Nash has testified that three priests and three brothers, including Cable, turned up to her house on the night of Andrew’s death.

She said the since-convicted pedophile asked whether a note had been left or whether Andrew had said anything, before they all got in a huddle, had a conversation and left.

One of the men who was supposedly there, school principal Brother Christopher, was on Thursday accused of being relieved that Andrew had not said anything before he died.

Counsel for the Nash family, Hilbert Chiu, also put to the brother that he was pretending he couldn’t remember going to the house because he was a “coward and a liar”.

“[You knew] that Andrew’s death had something to do with Romuald’s interference?” Chiu asked in a heated exchange.

“I didn’t know that,” Brother Christopher, whose real name is William Wade, replied.

The commission has heard Cable said: “I thought I’d been good in that area lately” when he was confronted about a complaint, which Brother Christopher says was the only one he ever received.

The principal said he told nobody about the comment.

“You didn’t want to open a can of worms by delving into what he may have done in the past,” Chiu said.

“That’s correct,” Brother Christopher replied.

The hearing into the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic authorities’ response to allegations of sexual abuse has now concluded.

The commission is set to examine how Catholic dioceses in Parramatta and Armidale dealt with allegations of abuse by John Joseph Farrell from Monday in Sydney.

 

 

 

 

 




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