In the wake of allegations against former teachers and priests at Bathurst's St Stanislaus College, a group of ex-students has called on the Vincentian order to withdraw from the college. The Sydney Morning Herald reports old boys from St Stanislaus' College have started a petition, asking the Vincentian order to remove itself from the school.
Police Strike Force Belle has arrested three Vincentians who previously taught at the school, charging them with a total of 125 offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
The petition, already signed by 16 former students, has been forwarded to the Old Boys Union and requests that the school be placed under a non-demoninational governance structure.
"We have a collective view that the future of Stannies can only be assured by the exiting of the Vincentian order and its representatives from all aspects of the college's administration and governance," the petition stated.
Petition signatory Dallas McInerney, who was a former boarder at the school in the mid-1980s and has given a statement to Strike Force Belle, told the paper that while he has confidence in the investigation, there is a deeper culture at the school that needs to be addressed.
"If you look at some of the teachers under investigation, very few of them had any formal tertiary education qualifications and I don't see that they were ever able to run an institution like [St Stanislaus']," he said.
"And then when it comes to the point where a complaint is made, the Vincentians' track record is very poor," he said.
Old Boys Union representative Tom Buckley, told the paper he could not comment on the petition after receiving legal advice.
School principal John Edwards said the school was cooperating fully with the police investigation but in no circumstances would consider a move towards a non-denominational structure. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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(Source: CN)