The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference (NZCBC) is following the response of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference to some of the recommendations made by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in its final report. The seal of Confession In a statement, the NZCBC says Confession is often not understood. “In many cases, the Read more
Catholic priests say they will face jail rather than break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse. The priests are responding to South Australia’s decision to join the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to create laws to force Catholic priests to break the seal of confession, to report paedophiles to police. The new laws, Read more
A new law requiring priests to break confession seal is ‘premature and ill-judged’, says Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge. Priests are not using the seal of confession to protect child abusers. Removing a priest’s legal protection will not make children safer, Coleridge says. While he agrees children’s safety is paramount, he Read more
The Australian Royal Commission’s report into child abuse has made 409 recommendations, 15 of them directed at the Catholic church. In an initial response to the report, a Vatican Press Office released a statement saying the report is a thorough effort that “deserves to be studied seriously.” It reiterated the commitment of the Holy See Read more
The Australian child sex abuse Royal Commission has heard seminary life and training of Catholic priests in the past was “dangerous and distorted”. It also heard the priests should have had ongoing formation and supervision. Diocese of Broken Bay vicar general Dr David Ranson also told the Royal Commission the changes in priestly formation over Read more
The awful record of the institutional Catholic church’s leadership in dealing with the scandal of clerical sex abuse of minors has clearly, and rightly, been a trigger for the federal government’s Royal Commission into sexual abuse of children in Australia. This is a record that has already prompted other inquiries here and overseas. It would indeed be Read more