Key facts
- The Christian Brothers and Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) have agreed to fully compensate abuse survivors.
- EREA will sell 36 properties valued at approximately $217 million to fund the compensation.
- This decision reverses a previous plan where the Christian Brothers claimed bankruptcy and proposed selling properties to cover various debts.
- EREA will assume liability for all current and future legal proceedings and claims related to historical abuse.
- The agreement follows significant public pressure and scrutiny of property transfers between the two entities.
The Christian Brothers, a Catholic order implicated in numerous clergy abuse cases, have agreed to provide full compensation to victims following a significant reversal of their earlier stance. Weeks of public pressure and scrutiny of property dealings led the related entity, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), to agree to cover all outstanding claims.
Previously, the Christian Brothers had announced financial insolvency and proposed selling 36 properties, valued at approximately $217 million, to distribute proceeds among various creditors, including abuse survivors who were estimated to be owed $774 million. This plan faced strong opposition, particularly concerning the vast property holdings that the Christian Brothers had gifted to EREA for nominal sums over a decade, which survivors were told were off-limits.
EREA, established in 2007 to manage former Christian Brothers schools, had also refused to replace the Christian Brothers as the defendant in court claims. Survivors were in the process of seeking a court order to compel EREA to do so. However, statements released on Friday indicated EREA's commitment to "compensate victims and survivors of historical abuse claims against the Christian Brothers in full."
Dr Stephen Brown, chair of EREA's Trustees, stated that the organization supports the revised scheme as the "right thing to do" for victims and survivors, ensuring a "just and sustainable pathway" while also supporting the educational ministry. The new proposal ensures that current claimants with settlements or judgments will be paid in full, and EREA will assume responsibility for all current and future legal proceedings, as well as claims before the National Redress Scheme. Survivors with claims not yet crystallized will be able to sue EREA or seek redress through the national scheme, with EREA consenting to be a defendant in such cases.
Grace Wilson, a partner at Rightside Legal representing numerous claimants, hailed the decision as a victory for survivors, attributing EREA's "folding" to legal pressure. She advised other religious orders to note that transferring wealth would not shield them from their obligations. The two entities will now spend up to two months finalizing the details of the new proposal, which will then be subject to a creditor vote and court approval.