Tena Koutou. Greetings

At the Board of Trustees meeting held on Tuesday night the following statement was issued by Chairperson Trevor Thomson as a response to the call for a name change for Kavanagh:

"At our meeting on 30 October 2018 we considered the letter from Dr Murray Heasley requesting the change of name of the College and other correspondence received regarding the matter.

In 1989 when the local Catholic intermediate and high schools were integrated into one school, the Dunedin Diocese decided to name the new school after Bishop John Kavanagh, the fourth Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Dunedin.

The Board is now aware of recent allegations relating to abuse within the Catholic Church during the term of Bishop Kavanagh’s leadership of the Diocese.

The Board is responsible for the governance of the College on behalf of its proprietor, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese. Bishop Michael Dooley is the proprietor of the College and the only person with the authority to consider the request to change the name of the College and to make a decision regarding the request.

After receipt of Dr Heasley's letter, our Board wrote to Bishop Michael suggesting that he consider an independent enquiry into Bishop Kavanagh’s knowledge and handling of abuse during Bishop Kavanagh’s term as Bishop. Bishop Michael has now responded to advise us of his commitment to listen to the victims and survivors of sexual abuse within the Church, to acknowledge past failings and to ensure that present structures and practices are safe. Within the context of the need for the Church to examine institutional failings, Bishop Michael has also advised us of his commitment to seriously consider whether or not the handling of sexual abuse during Bishop Kavanagh’s term as Bishop warrants a change of name for the College."

Trevor Thomson
Chairperson
Board of Trustees