Nun wrongly claimed dead

Sisters of Nazareth wrongly claimed dead in a document

An Australian newspaper reports that the Sisters of Nazareth wrongly claimed in a document filed in a Queensland court last year that Sister Bernard Mary, the central figure in child abuse allegations at a Brisbane orphanage, was dead. Sr Bernard, who is in her 60s, is very much alive and is now based in Christchurch as head of the Sisters of Nazareth in New Zealand.

It is believed that on 25 July, 2001, the date the document was filed in the Queensland Supreme Court, she was living in London and working as the orderýs worldwide leader. The false claim was made in a statement of defence by the Trustees of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth, the second defendant in a case lodged by one of five women seeking compensation for alleged abuse at Nazareth House in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum in the 1950s and 60s.

The orderýs regional superior, Sr Clare Breen, denied any knowledge of the court document, adding "thatýs not something we would do".