Te Kuiti Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Lawyers acting for the New Zealand Branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses Church dominated the first day of proceedings in Wellington High Court on Monday, arguing the church should be exempt from inclusion in the Abuse in Care inquiry.
In the judicial review, the church said it was beyond the scope of the inquiry as it did not operate institutions that took children, young persons or vulnerable adults into care.
The church's counsel were seeking to draw a line between abuse occurring among members of the church and an opportunity for abuse created by the church taking people into formal structures of care.
They said only a third of the statements made to the inquiry by survivors alleging abuse involved Elders of the church, and each of these had occurred in private settings.
Lawyer Sarah Jerebine described a 13-year-old girl abused by an Elder while on a family holiday as an example being beyond the inquiry's scope as it occurred in a family setting.
The church took up the majority of Monday's proceedings, its lawyers outlining 17 points backing its arguments for the court to consider.
Early in proceedings, Judge Rebecca Ellis said the repetitious nature of the arguments sent a message that they were more about obfuscation than clarity.
Ellis was critical of the church's handling of allegations of sexual abuse. She highlighted examples of abuse - provided by the church - where incidents of sexual connection involving a five- to six-year-old girl, and another involving a 15-year-old girl, were treated as adultery.
"How they address sexual abuse is by categorising it as adultery. That's not victim-focused."
Shayne Mechen, advocate for survivors of abuse in Jehovah's Witnesses followings, attended the hearing. He said the stance was the "same rhetoric" offered by the church countless times.
"They're saying 'it was an individual it's not the faith', and yet the individual was an Elder and the Jehovah's Witnesses are appointing these Elders. So what is it? [Victims] are not going to get any physical life help. They're not going to be cared for."
The hearing was set down to continue Tuesday, when the court will hear from the Abuse in Care inquiry's lawyers.