Archbishop's Letter May 2010

A MESSAGE TO ALL PARISHES FROM
FROM ARCHBISHOP JEFFREY DRIVER
IN RESPONSE TO AN ARTICLE
IN THE ADVERTISER ON SATURDAY, MAY 29TH.
(I would ask that you read this to congregations at all services on May 30th)
You may have been concerned by an article in the Adelaide Advertiser yesterday. The article seems to infer that the Diocese, the Archbishop and Anglicare SA either acted improperly, or sought to act improperly, in considering whether Anglicare could support the diocesan response to the survivors of abuse
I assure you that such inferences or suggestions are untrue. No funds were improperly transferred to the Diocese. Anglicare Board did not act contrary to its own constitution. All funds for programs managed by Anglicare were properly acquitted, reported and audited.
I continue to maintain that it was morally and pastorally right for Anglicare to explore ways, within its legal and constitutional framework, to support the diocesan response to the survivors of abuse. Anglicare was incorporated in 2000, but a number of the cases of abuse that the Diocese was responding to were linked to entities or people associated with Anglicare before its incorporation. The person who allegedly perpetrated the most instances of abuse, Mr Robert Brandenburg, was for a time an employee of Anglicare.
As an organisation established for the care and support of the marginalised and needy, Anglicare-SA could not have maintained its integrity if it had not considered how it could support a response to people who had suffered in entities or through staff associated with it before its incorporation. Of course it had to act within its constitution and with full regard for the proper use of funds, so its capacity to support the diocesan response was limited.
An amount of money was transferred to the Diocese in 2007. These were funds that were erroneously transferred to Anglicare at the time of incorporation. The error was discovered by Anglicare and the funds were returned following legal advice.
Anglicare-SA, the Diocese and the Archbishop are taking legal advice about the article published in the Adelaide Advertiser on Saturday.
+Jeffrey
Saturday, 29 May 2010