No formal complaint has been made to the police about unapproved spending by a former head of the Order of St John of God in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua-New Guinea. A report on the spending by Brother Peter Burke was completed about a month ago, after the end of his three terms of office as the order’s Provincial, a High Court trial in Christchurch was told today.
Giving evidence before Justice Graham Panckhurst and a jury was Brother Brian O’Donnell, one of the order’s provincial councillors.
He told crown prosecutor Chris Lange: “No formal complaint has been made because the practice and tradition of the order is to grant a great deal of discretion to the Provincial in utilising the order’s funds.”
In evidence on Monday, he told of concerns about Brother Burke’s spending being raised with the provincial council by Brother Roger Moloney who is now on trial on 30 charges alleging he sexually abused boys at the Marylands Special School in Christchurch in the 1970s.
Brother Burke spoke to the men – previous pupils at the school – who began making allegations from about 2002 that they had been abused during their time at the school.
Brother O’Donnell told the court of concerns about Brother Burke staying at expensive hotels when he was travelling, flying business class, and other unapproved spending. There was concern about his withdrawals of money from automatic teller machines at casinos late at night.
He said the provincial council met after hearing of Brother Moloney’s concerns and set down rules for Brother Burke to use only one credit card, and to operate through the normal financial structures of the office.
An inquiry was set up after his term of office. “We were still concerned that substantial sums of money had been withdrawn from the order’s funds without proper documentation or explanation.”
He told the court that while the Provincial was allowed a great deal of discretion, “It became fairly plain to the various councillors that Brother Burke’s exercise of this discretion went beyond our tradition in the usual practice.”
The trial is proceeding with 11 jurors after a woman member of the jury selected yesterday had an accident as she made her way to the Court House this morning.
The trial did not sit in the morning while more information was sought from the hospital about her condition, and then Justice Panckhurst decided the trial should continue. He told the remaining jurors: “We will soldier on with 11 of you. Don’t fall over or contract colds if at all possible, please.”
After Brother O’Donnell’s evidence, the trial heard from the first of the 11 complainants who will give evidence at the trial. He had begun attending Marylands in 1972, when he was aged 11. He is now 47, self-employed, and living in the North Island.
Moloney, 71, denies all the charges alleging touching, oral sex, and sodomy.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
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