Wellington Catholic Archbishop Paul Martin has urged Catholics to “get involved” in church life. For many, however, the call has landed not as an invitation, but as a point of tension — highlighting unresolved questions about trust, accountability, and institutional responsibility.

Critics say the issue is not a lack of willingness among lay Catholics, but a profound erosion of trust following the New Zealand Catholic Church’s handling of abuse.

One parishioner, who asked to remain anonymous, responded to the New Zealand chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) saying:

“How dare the Archbishop lay this on the laity. I gave years to my parish, to my faith. After the abuse, it feels like everything was undone.”

Another added:

“We have been so let down by Church leaders and their handling of abuse — and for many, that hasn’t changed.”

SNAP Aotearoa reports that when survivors raised concerns about clerical child sexual abuse with Archbishop Martin, he responded saying he was “not in charge” of safeguarding and referred them to a “Mixed Commission” — a group made up of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and Congregational Leaders Conference.

However, when survivors contacted that body, Martin himself responded effectively shutting them down.

Beyond safeguarding, some Catholics have raised concerns about how critical or dissenting voices are being treated today in the New Zealand Catholic Church, particularly those advocating for survivors and accountability.

For many, the question is no longer simply about participation, but about whether there is space for honest critique without retribution.

Lay Catholics Sidelined

For decades, lay Catholics have sustained parish life through voluntary service, leadership, and faith formation. Many now question whether calls for greater involvement can be separated from the Church leaders’ responsibility to address past and ongoing harm.

“Participation cannot be rebuilt through expectation alone,” said Donald McLeish, a spokesperson for SNAP Aotearoa. “It must be grounded in trust, transparency, and accountability.”

“Until that trust is meaningfully addressed, calls to ‘get involved’ risk being heard not as an invitation, but as a failure to reckon with the realities many Catholics continue to face,” he said.

McLeish added that lay Catholics who support survivors in New Zealand and call for accountability risk being marginalised — a pattern he says recent actions appear to reinforce.

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