Australian Catholic Bishops Reject Law on Child Abuse Reporting

Australian Catholic Bishops Reject Law on Child Abuse Reporting

Catholic churches in Australia have on Friday rejected laws compelling priests to report Child abuse cases to the police when revealed at the confessional.

The country’s uppermost Catholic group, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), said it does not accept endorsement from any official inquiry into child abuse confessed in the church that would force priests by law, to report such cases to authorities.

Herald news reports that Australia had in 2017 completed a five-year government-appointed inquiry into child sex abuse in churches and other establishments.

This inquiry revealed that seven percent of Catholic priests in Australia between 1950 and 2010 were accused of child sex crimes plus about 1,100 persons had filed child sexual assault claims against the Anglican Church over 35 years.

 Meanwhile, a state in Australia had long introduced laws that made it a crime for priests to conceal the report of the cases, while five states and remaining territories are yet to reach a conclusion concerning their response. 

The ACBC President, Mark Coleridge, while addressing journalists said the oath of confession was “a non-negotiable element of our religious life and embodies an understanding of the believer and God.”

The group had on Friday released a report stating that “The Council continues to support retention of the civil law protection for the seal of the confessional and children will be less safe rather than more, if mandatory reporting of confessions were required.”

 

Anne Bassey

 

 

 

Related Posts:

  • All Post
  • abduction
  • Belief
  • Bible Reading
  • Business
  • Care
  • Celebration
  • Celebration
  • Charity
  • Christianity
  • Columns
  • Comfort
  • Crime
  • Depression
  • Disability
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Forgiveness
  • Hope
  • Inspirational Reading
  • Life’s Battles
  • Love
  • Marriage
  • Ministry Burnout
  • Ministry Service
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Other Sources
  • Politics
  • Pray
  • Prayer Guide
  • Praying
  • Religion
  • Resentment
  • richest person
  • Secular Music
  • SECURITY
  • Spiritual Support
  • Sports
  • Trust in God
  • Truth
  • Wholehearted Service
  • World

MOST RECENT ARTICLES

  • All Post
  • abduction
  • Belief
  • Bible Reading
  • Business
  • Care
  • Celebration
  • Celebration
  • Charity
  • Christianity
  • Columns
  • Comfort
  • Crime
  • Depression
  • Disability
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Forgiveness
  • Hope
  • Inspirational Reading
  • Life’s Battles
  • Love
  • Marriage
  • Ministry Burnout
  • Ministry Service
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Other Sources
  • Politics
  • Pray
  • Prayer Guide
  • Praying
  • Religion
  • Resentment
  • richest person
  • Secular Music
  • SECURITY
  • Spiritual Support
  • Sports
  • Trust in God
  • Truth
  • Wholehearted Service
  • World

Newsletter

JOIN THE FAMILY!

Get a Cookbook with our recipes.

You have been successfully Subscribed! Please Connect to Mailchimp first

Categories

Edit Template

We at Giantability Media Networks will gladly accommodate any of your questions or concerns.

When you have something in mind, please let us know by reaching out to us through our contact information below.

Follow Us

© 2025 Created by ef-oneweb