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Human Rights·Australia & Oceania

Christian Brothers kept nine convicted child abusers as members, citing religious duty

Friday, 3 July 2026, 06:28 · 1 min read

The Christian Brothers Catholic order (a religious congregation historically prominent in running schools across Australia and Ireland) has retained nine convicted child sex offenders as members, including one currently imprisoned, citing what it calls a "Gospel imperative" to care for the needy and a canon law obligation to support all brothers. Court documents filed in Australia reveal that the order's Oceania leadership argued that keeping offenders within the congregation allows for closer monitoring and access to treatment, and that expelling them would shift a financial burden onto taxpayers. The disclosure comes as the order, which has sought financial assistance from the Holy See and other Catholic institutions without success, obtained a moratorium on civil abuse claims from survivors after declaring it faces insolvency, proposing instead to liquidate roughly $217 million in remaining property to compensate victims.

Sources
The GuardianChristian Brothers kept nine child abusers as members due to Gospel imperative to help ‘the needy’, court documents reveal ↗︎
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