Abuse survivor receives long awaited formal apology from the Marist Brothers NZ
Abuse survivor Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa received an official apology from Marists Brothers NZ earlier this month.
The apology came by way of an Ifoga, a traditional Samoan ceremony of apology and a crucial part of the process for resolving serious disputes involving family.
In the ceremony the Marist Brothers sought forgiveness and restoration for the harm that had been caused to Frances and her family.
In 2020, Frances gave evidence at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry which looked into what happened to children and young people while in the care of the State or faith-based institutions, mainly between the years 1950-1999.
She testified that between the age of five to seven years old, she suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Brother Bede (Fitton), who is now deceased.
In the Ifoga, Frances accepted the apology, granting the Marist Brothers forgiveness, but not before expressing the anger, pain and disappointment in the way she was treated, especially when she filed her complaint as a teenager through to the present day.
Frances says that she thought the apology would never come, and that it is now an important step in her journey towards healing and reconciliation.
