4 Apr 2019

Man abused at Catholic college wants removed portrait explained

From Morning Report, 6:12 am on 4 April 2019

An elderly man sexually attacked as a boy by the head of a leading Catholic college in Upper Hutt, says it's good the rector's photo has been taken down - but the school should speak up about why it did so. St Patrick's College in Silverstream in Wellington has agreed to take down the picture of former rector Frank Durning, known as Fred, that had been displayed in its auditorium. The man's complaint of abuse in the 1950s against the late Marist Father was upheld by the church a decade ago. The college's current rector Grahame Duffy and its Board of Trustees chair Katrina Mannix issued a three-line statement but both declined an interview with RNZ. The man tells reporter Phil Pennington the school should be more open about the past.