Letter to All Bodies of Elders, “Letter to all bodies of elders regarding child abuse, 1 October 2012 (Royal Commission Exhibit 29-0003, WAT.0001.004.0066)”
“The elders should remain vigilant with regard to the conduct and activity of the accused ... The elders should be especially mindful of the activity of any who are known to have sexually abused a child in the past.”
Quoted by the organisation's own counsel (submissions par. 9.358) from pars. 11-12 of the 2012 letter. The Case Study 29 report (p. 21) describes the letter as having 'consolidated into one letter the spiritual advice and guidance provided in various letters from preceding years'. At the March 2017 hearing Mr O'Brien confirmed it had been replaced by the 1 August 2016 letter.
No online copy located.
Provenance and verification note for Letter to All Bodies of Elders, Letter to all bodies of elders regarding child abuse, 1 October 2012 (Royal Commission Exhibit 29-0003, WAT.0001.004.0066)
Confidence note. The letter itself was not opened (the Royal Commission exhibit site could not be reached from this environment). Wording is taken from the organisation's submissions and the Commission's report, two independent public-record documents that were opened.
Corroborated by. src-wt-subs-2015-1109-royal-commission, src-arc-2016-1000-cs29-report, src-arc-2017-0310-cs54-day259-transcript
Notes. Quoted from the copy tendered in evidence to the Australian Royal Commission. The exhibit ID is from Case Study 29 report endnote 110.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-boe-2012-1001-letter-child-abuse