- The Benedictine Community of New Norcia put most of its farm up for sale
- The farm covers about 8,000 hectares
- The estimated price was about $40 million
- The monks cited liabilities for redress for historical abuse
The Benedictine monks of New Norcia in Western Australia have decided to sell most of their farm to meet redress obligations, The Catholic Weekly reported in October 2021.
New Norcia, founded in 1847 in the Victoria Plains about an hour and a half north of Perth, is home to six Benedictine monks. Its farm covers about 8,000 hectares, with an estimated price of about $40 million.
In a statement on 14 September, the community said: “Due to its liabilities relating to redress for historical abuse, the Benedictine Community of New Norcia has made the difficult decision to sell the majority of its farm.” It added: “It is anticipated that this sale will generate sufficient capital to meet our commitment to redress, and enough capital injection into the organisation to sustain New Norcia well into the future.”
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that 21.5 per cent of Benedictine Community priests between 1950 and 2010 were accused of abuse, three times the national average of 7 per cent.
New Norcia shows how church farmland, often gifted or granted generations ago, can become the asset that pays for past wrongs. Jamaica’s churches and religious orders also hold farmland and estates. Knowing their value, keeping proper governance and insuring against liabilities are part of responsible stewardship.
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