Pallottines (Society of the Catholic Apostolate)
The Society of the Catholic Apostolate better known as the Pallottines, are a Society of Apostolic Life within the Roman Catholic Church. The Order was founded in 1835 by the Roman priest Saint Vincent Pallotti which gives them the name, 'Pallottine'. The Pallottines are part of the Union of Catholic Apostolate and are present in 45 countries on six continents. In Australia, the Pallottines are made up of Fathers and Brothers. The Order came to Australia in 1901 to work at Beagle Bay Mission and since then have been involved with many missions in Western Australia.
Like many other religious orders around Australia, the Pallottines have been involved in allegations and matters involving child sexual abuse. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have provided the following figures in relation to the Pallottine Order.
41 people made a claim of child sexual abuse received by the Pallottines – Society of the Catholic Apostolate (1% of all claims of child sexual abuse).
This represents 7% of all claims received by religious institutes with priest and religious brother members.
Of these claims of child sexual abuse:
a. 29 (71%) identified one or more priest as an alleged perpetrator.
b. 10 (24%) identified one or more lay person as an alleged perpetrator.
c. Six (15%) identified one or more religious brothers as an alleged perpetrator.
d. One (2%) identified one or more religious sister as an alleged perpetrator.
14 (34%) people made a claim of child sexual abuse which identified more than one alleged perpetrator.
31 (76%) people who made a claim of child sexual abuse also made an allegation of physical abuse.
The gender of claimants (where the gender was reported) was 34% male and 61% female.
The average age of the claimants at the time of the alleged child sexual abuse was eight years of age.
87% of claimants were under the age of 13 years at the time of the alleged child sexual abuse and 13% were between 13 and 18 years of age (where the age was known).
17% of claimants alleged that the incidents of child sexual abuse occurred in the period from 1970 to 1989 (inclusive).
The largest proportion of claimants alleged that the first incident of child sexual abuse occurred in the 1960s (51%).
Alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse
31 alleged perpetrators were subject to one or more claims of child sexual abuse received by the Pallottines. This represents 1% of all alleged perpetrators and 13% of alleged perpetrators identified by religious institutes with priest and religious brother members.
Of the alleged perpetrators subject to one or more claims of child sexual abuse:
a. 21 had a known identity (68%). In 10 cases (32%) the survey response did not contain enough information of the perpetrator.
b. Where this information was known, 97% were male and 3% was female.
c. Where this information was known, 19% were alive at the time the first claim of child sexual abuse was made against them.
The average number of claims received per alleged perpetrator was 1.9.
Of the alleged perpetrators subject to one or more claims of child sexual abuse:
a. 13 (42%) were reported to be a religious priest.
b. Seven (23%) were reported to be a lay person.
c. Six (19%) were reported to be a non-ordained religious.
d. In five (16%) of the cases the religious status of the accused was not known.
The highest number of claims of child sexual abuse received by the Pallottines against a single alleged perpetrator was 12.
One (5%) of the alleged perpetrators was the subject of more than 10 claims of child sexual abuse.
We invite former victims of physical and sexual abuse by any member of the Pallottines to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.
Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.