A message from Dr Lynn Arnold in response to recent articles published in The Advertiser

Anglicare SA has not used any donor or program funds to assist the Diocese respond to claims of abuse by church leaders.

Discussions with the Diocese have been about claims of abuse by Anglicare staff on Anglicare premises before Anglicare was incorporated in the year 2000.

Because Anglicare was not an incorporated entity in those years before 2000, the Diocese has accepted responsibility for those who were abused within Anglicare.  But the board of Anglicare recognised that it has a moral responsibility to support the Diocese as it does this.

The church has never pressured Anglicare to use donor money or program funding to provide this support. Anglicare has not and will not use donor gifts or program funding for any purposes other than those for which it is provided.

Below, you can read the joint letter from Dr Lynn Arnold and Archbishop Jeffrey Driver in response to the articles.

We refer to recent articles which imply that the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide has been seeking to take money from Anglicare SA to fund payments to those who have been abused by church leaders.

Any such inferences are quite misleading. The discussions between the diocese and Anglicare SA have been about those who sadly suffered abuse in Anglicare organisations, before its incorporation in 2000.

Our major concern since the discovery of the cases of abuse is, has been and remains, the welfare of the survivors. It is for their sake, above all other considerations, that we feel it necessary to clarify the situation.

The Diocese of Adelaide accepted responsibility for supporting all who were abused in its care, including those who were abused in Anglicare entities before its incorporation. It entered into discussion with Anglicare SA about how it might support this diocesan response to those who were abused in institutions that are now part of Anglicare SA. This represents nearly half the claims dealt with by the Diocese over the past five years.

As an organisation established for the care and support of the marginalised and needy, Anglicare SA has a moral obligation to explore ways, within its legal and constitutional framework, to support the church as it responds to those who suffered abuse on Anglicare premises or by Anglicare staff in the period before incorporation.  Anglicare was incorporated in 2000 and at that time the diocese transferred all relevant assets to the newly incorporated entity.

Both the Diocese of Adelaide and Anglicare SA took legal advice on these matters. The advice to Anglicare Council was that it could not constitutionally transfer funds directly to the support of survivors.

We accepted this advice and every dollar paid to the survivors was from Church funds, not Anglicare.

We have acted at all times in accordance with the Anglicare Constitution and have been publicly transparent in regard to funding responsibilities.

We are deeply concerned at any suggestion or implication that the Diocese of Adelaide or Anglicare SA has acted other than properly in these matters.

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