A Catholic order is engaged in an extraordinary legal stoush with women it employed to investigate child abuse, turning on a whistleblower after she alleged serious bullying by its leader and knowingly using an alleged child abuser as a star witness in a court case.
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she → engage → case
An ABC investigation has uncovered allegations by a group of women who claim severe bullying and intimidation by the province leader of the Sydney-based Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), which runs four Australian schools.
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which → uncover → schools
At the same time, MSC was defending a historical child sexual abuse case in Victoria's Supreme Court, putting forward a priest and former school principal as a crucial witness without disclosing that there had been abuse allegations substantiated against him.
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MSC → defend → him
After that case was thrown out on appeal, MSC launched legal action against one of the women who alleged she had been bullied by the province leader, accusing her of leaking confidential information.
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she → throw → information
The behaviour by MSC's leadership has been reported to the highest levels in the Catholic Church, including the Pope's representative in Australia, but nothing has been done.
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nothing → report → Australia
Now, those at the centre of the stoush have lost their faith and one has been left with a $500,000 legal bill she is unable to pay.
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she → lose → bill
'An explosive anger'
A lifelong Catholic, Meta Jackman worked as the director of professional standards at MSC in Sydney.
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Jackman → work → Sydney
Her job required her to investigate allegations of wrongdoing but Ms Jackman never thought she would become a victim herself.
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she → require → wrongdoing
She is now engaged in a lengthy and expensive legal case against MSC because of the alleged conduct of its current province leader, Father Stephen Hackett.
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She → engage → leader
Ms Jackman, her support officer Anne-Marie Snelling and another former MSC employee, Clare Shearman, have accused Father Hackett of bullying.
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Jackman → accuse → bullying
Ms Jackman and Ms Snelling have since filed workplace injury claims in the Federal Court.
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Jackman → file → Court
The women allege the workplace became intolerable when Father Hackett started running the order, and say they were ultimately unable to be in the same room as him.
Ms Jackman physically shakes when she demonstrates the tone of voice Father Hackett used to speak to her in meetings.
"Meta!
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Hackett → allege → meetings
What do you think is going to be achieved here?!" she shouts.
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she → think → ?
"He's a physically intimidating presence," she explains.
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she → explain → ?
The MSC workplace was allegedly so traumatic that Ms Snelling says her psychologist and rehabilitation specialist had both deemed it "too toxic" for her ever to return.
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her → say → ?
"He berates you," Ms Snelling says.
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Snelling → berate → you
I often felt he would loom over me.
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he → feel → me
"There was a physicality to his anger as well as the explosiveness of it and it would come out of nowhere."
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it → be → it
Clare Shearman, a former spiritual director who worked for MSC, recalls Father Hackett would frequently "flip his lid".
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Hackett → work → lid
"He's just lost control of his ability to manage how he is coming over, shouting, getting bright red in the face," she says.
"And personally attacking, verbally attacking me."
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she → lose → me
An affidavit sworn in support of Ms Jackman obtained by 7.30, written by Father Hackett's predecessor as province leader, Father Chris McPhee, alleged the behaviour was not unprecedented.
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behaviour → swear → leader
It says when Father Hackett was secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), the peak body for bishops in Australia, "there were allegations made by women he worked with there that he had bullied them" and a historical record existed on his file.
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record → say → file
"I have also observed that [Father Hackett] has been unwilling to reflect on those behaviours or take responsibility for them.
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Hackett → observe → them
I have on several occasions attempted to address this issue with him directly," Father McPhee wrote in the affidavit.
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McPhee → attempt → affidavit
In April, another MSC priest wrote to the entire order about Father Hackett's history and begged them not to re-elect him as province leader.
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priest → write → leader
"Stephen displays a pattern of behaviour that is, and has been highly damaging to many people …
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that → display → people
He has an explosive anger which is prone to spontaneously erupt," Father Mark Hanns wrote.
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Hanns → have → anger
Those pleas were ignored, with Father Hackett re-elected as province leader in May.
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Hackett → ignore → May
"He's left to continue to intimidate, bully, destroy women's lives by the way he behaves," Ms Jackman says.
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Jackman → leave → way
Following a different 'law'
Solicitor Ros Everett is a former President of the NSW Law Society who chaired the MSC board until Father Hackett's management style led her to resign in disgust.
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style → follow → disgust
"Stephen Hackett didn't believe outsiders should be doing these [child abuse] investigations," Ms Everett says.
"He believed it should have been just [MSC] priests doing the investigation, and he said 'this is all rubbish.
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this → believe → investigation
We follow canon law, we follow our religious vows.
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we → follow → vows
We are not bound by civil law'."
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We → bind → law
Kathleen McCormack, who was knighted by the late Pope Francis for her work on his child abuse taskforce, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, also quit over Father Hackett's stance on these issues.
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who → knight → issues
"As you would be aware, in your capacity as Head of the relevant entity (MSC), you have clear and specific obligations under state-based statutory schemes," Ms McCormack wrote in her resignation letter.
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McCormack → have → letter
"I am concerned that if you took this stance, it would risk placing the MSCs in a precarious legal and ethical position."
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it → take → position
Stephen Hackett declined to be interviewed and denied the allegations of bullying.
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Hackett → decline → bullying
In a statement, MSC said it takes "allegations of this nature extremely seriously".
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it → say → nature
"We are committed to fostering a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace," it said.
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it → commit → workplace
The statement said the women's claims were not substantiated in an investigation which had been commissioned by the order.
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which → say → order
…and 53 more, not listed.
The Aporia