Christian Brothers abuse victims to get 'full' compensation after EREA backdown
After weeks of public pressure, the Edmund Rice Education Australia trustees have agreed to fully compensate abuse survivors of the Christian Brothers, reversing an earlier plan that would have left victims with partial payments.
The entity that was gifted vast property holdings by the Christian Brothers has agreed to help compensate abuse survivors in full, in a stunning reversal after weeks of public pressure.
Last month, the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order with a long history of clergy abuse, announced it was going broke and could not afford to meet civil claims from abuse survivors. It instead proposed a scheme to sell off 36 properties worth about $217 million, splitting the proceeds between a range of creditors, including survivors, who were estimated to be owed $774 million.
The announcement prompted significant backlash and led to scrutiny of property dealings between the Christian Brothers and a related entity, the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA). That entity was created in 2007 to assume control of former Christian Brothers schools. Over a decade, the Christian Brothers gifted vastly lucrative property holdings – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – to EREA for amounts of $1. Survivors were told those properties were off-limits and would not be sold to meet their compensation claims.
EREA had previously refused to replace the Christian Brothers as the defendant to court claims. But on Friday, both entities issued statements indicating that Edmund Rice had agreed to help "compensate victims and survivors of historical abuse claims against the Christian Brothers in full".
Dr Stephen Brown, chair of the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, said his organisation was "committed to supporting those who have suffered abuse". "We support the revised scheme because it is simply the right thing to do for victims and survivors to provide them a just and sustainable pathway," he said.
The new proposal means that the Christian Brothers' remaining 36 properties will be sold off to pay survivors who have "outstanding settlements or judgements, including claims to legal costs". Others who have claims that "are not yet crystallised" will be able to sue EREA, or claim redress from them through the government-run national redress scheme. The organisation will consent to replacing the Christian Brothers as a defendant in such cases.
A statement from the Christian Brothers said this meant that "not only will current claimants with settlements or judgments be paid in full, but EREA will assume responsibility and liability for all current and future legal proceedings as well as for claims before the National Redress Scheme".
Rightside Legal, which represents dozens of people with claims against the Christian Brothers, said the backdown was a significant win for its clients. "Make no mistake: survivors fought for this success," said Grace Wilson, partner at the firm. "Edmund Rice are folding because the law is against them. Other orders should take note: transferring their wealth away will not protect them from their legal or moral obligations."
