Professional standards and safeguarding, Bishop Brian Mascord
My Sisters and Brothers in Christ
I write to you today about a very serious matter involving a former parish priest of St Francis of Assisi Warrawong and St Mary’s Berkeley.
Fr Martin Mai OFM Conv, a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, has appeared before Wollongong Court on Wednesday 9 November 2022 where he is facing charges related to allegations of sexual offences against an adult. Fr Martin has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Fr Martin was parish priest at Warrawong and Berkeley between 2016 and 2020. The Diocese of Wollongong was first made aware of an allegation against Fr Martin at the end of November 2020. The diocese reported the allegation to NSW Police and Fr Martin was removed from his position as parish priest and had his faculties to minister in the diocese withdrawn.
Since that time, the matter has been managed by various law enforcement agencies. Since first reporting the allegations to police, the diocese has consistently engaged with police, both proactively and in response to requests.
I understand this announcement may cause some distress. Our diocese, along with Catholic dioceses across Australia, has extensive measures and safeguards in place to protect and support all people who engage in any way with diocesan personnel to ensure that we learn from the lessons of the past and safeguard the future. We continue to review and revise our practices to ensure the safeguarding of the most vulnerable.
As always, we stand together with Pope Francis who recently reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s position that “abuse in any form is unacceptable”, and we strongly urge any person with any complaint of mistreatment or abuse to contact the police. If you need assistance in contacting police, please contact the diocesan Office of Professional Standards and Safeguarding by emailing [email protected] or via phone on 0408 512 163.
As Australians, we also believe in the justice system and the underpinning principles of the rule of law, including the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial. As this matter is still before the courts, it is not appropriate for the diocese to make any further comment at this time.
We are wholeheartedly committed to supporting people impacted by matters of this nature, and encourage anyone who would like to access support to contact our Office of Professional Standards and Safeguarding.
I invite you to join me in praying for all those impacted by this matter.
Yours in Christ
Most Rev Brian G Mascord DD
Bishop of Wollongong
9 November 2022
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Disclosure statement
The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Wollongong (the Fund) is required by law to make the following disclosure: The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for investors to support the charitable, religious and education works of the Diocese of Wollongong and for whom the consideration of profit are not of primary relevance in the investment decision. The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and any investment of the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed at www.cdfwollongong.org.au or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
Our diocesan logo is theologically rich and very succinct. As a hand, it depicts our mission as a diocese and as individuals within the diocese, of bearing (bringing, carrying) Christ’s love to one another and to the world around us. In this, we are the hand of Jesus Christ, and we are offering ourselves to him so that he might work through us.
We can be the bearers of his love only as a response to his call and in the strength of his grace. We are reminded of this in two ways—through the symbol of the dove (the Holy Spirit) also present in the logo, and by the incorporation of the cross that segments the logo. The presence of the cross is a reminder that bearing the love of Christ will inevitably cost us if we live it authentically. However, in the way that the Cross is the portent of redemption and life—an echo of the tree of life in the book of Genesis—so becoming bearers of the love of Christ will also bring us to life.
The four fingers of the hand also represent the four regions of our diocese. The first is bluerepresenting the beautiful water of the Shoalhaven. The second is a blue and green combination representing the waters and escarpment of the Illawarra. The third is greendepicting the hills and plains of the Macarthur. The fourth is dark green illustrating the forests of the Southern Highlands.
My Sisters and Brothers in Christ
