Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale Howard Temple said the leadership previously did not report allegations of abuse to police. Photo: Screenshot / Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry
A group of men used to make the final judgment on allegations of abuse at the Gloriavale Christian Community.
Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale Howard Temple has told the Abuse in Care inquiry that all decisions were made based on community doctrine and the Bible.
In what is a rare public appearance, the 82-year-old spoke to the Royal Commission via an audio-visual link.
He agreed with counsel for the commission, Kathy Basire, that when matters of abuse were raised, there was a policy to follow for the victim and offender.
"Seek for the offender to repent?" Basire asked.
"That is correct," Temple said.
"And the victim to forgive?" Basire asked.
"That is correct, yes," Temple replied.
''I understand that for victims that meant they had to appear in a room in front of perhaps five leaders and be told to forgive their offender?" Basire asked.
''They were just asked if they could forgive this person for what he had done.''
Basire asked Temple if this might also be done before the whole congregation.
''Possibly yes,'' he said.
While he was part of the leadership team under former leader Hopeful Christian in the '80s and '90s, he was not aware of allegations of sexual abuse within the community, he said.
Basire asked him if it was not true that Hopeful Christian would have told him about complaints and confessions of sexual and physical abuse in the time before Christian was convicted.
''Not particularly, not particularly, no, because back in that time he dealt with a lot of issues on his own.''
Basire said: ''You would have been aware at least that he was dealing with them on his own, is that correct?"
Temple answered: ''Not particularly, no. He could know of something that I knew nothing about.''
He agreed a comment he made that the limit of knowledge by leaders about abuse was because victims were reluctant to come forward, was actually victim-blaming.
''It could be interpreted that way, yes. The victim could not have spoken up out of fear or for some reason like that.''
The leadership did not report allegations of abuse to police, Temple said.
''That would have prevented a lot of it happening ... now we were more casual in our investigation, but the police came in and they got right into it, right down to the roots of the thing and discovered things that we would never imagined it, never even have thought it happening.''
The lawyer for Gloriavale, Chris Shannon, told the inquiry the community of about 600 people lived their lives according to their understanding of New Testament scripture and under New Zealand law.
''It is not uncommon for religious organisations to face the blight of sexual abuse and who have historically [been] dealt with inadequately and Gloriavale is no exception to that.''
Shannon said the Gloriavale community had made, and was making, serious efforts to deal with abuse and members were now encouraged to go to police.