To combat abuse and protect vulnerable people, France’s Catholic bishops adopted new guidelines last week for priests hearing confessions and giving spiritual counselling. The new measures follow recommendations from the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) which three years ago urged the Church to implement strict directives for confessors. The guidelines specify Read more
Anyone who uses a smartphone has likely experienced the same unsettling phenomenon — a pointedly placed advertisement that seems to show up right after you’ve discussed a topic or product. Could it be true that your phone is “listening” to your private conversations? It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer — and one that has Read more
Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese says confession will remain confidential despite the city’s upcoming national security law change. The proposed legislation the diocese is referring to is Article 23, a locally developed national security bill that Hong Kong is fast-tracking into law. It follows the one Beijing imposed in 2020 after quashing pro-democracy protests in Hong Read more
Better guidelines are needed to protect the sacrament of reconciliation as a “channel of grace” for sexual abuse victims, says Jesuit Father Hans Zollner. “If the church did more to help confessors be empathetic listeners as well as skilled interpreters of the church’s moral teaching, it would make it clearer that the sacrament of reconciliation Read more
Karine Dalle, spokeswoman and undersecretary for the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) has been fired, two and a half months after taking office. Although the bishops say Dalle’s “trial period has not been confirmed” she says she had “been fired”. Her dismissal follows various slip-ups in communications after the release of an independent report into sexual Read more
Perth’s Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has spoken out about new confessional legislation passed by the Western Australian State Parliament. The confessional legislation removes civil law protections to the confidentiality of the seal of confession. The confessional experience is a personal encounter between that person and Christ, Costelloe wrote in a pastoral letter published last week. He Read more
In a quick turnaround from news reported last week, France’s bishops’ conference says it will uphold the confessional seal, regardless of what has been confessed. Last week it was widely reported that the conference would break the seal in abuse cases. “One cannot change the canon law for France as it is international. A priest Read more
A new law in Queensland says priests must break the confessional seal to report child sex abuse to police. If they don’t comply, they could face three years in jail. Echoing recommendations from Australia’s Royal Commission Into Child Sexual Abuse, Queensland’s Parliament passed the new law on Tuesday. Australia’s Catholic leaders have always vowed to Read more
Laws requiring clergy to report child abuse to authorities — even if it’s heard in the confession box — will come into effect on Monday, ending the “special treatment” for Victoria’s religious institutions. The seal has now been lifted for the suspected sexual abuse of children, with spiritual and religious leaders required to report the Read more
What is worth protecting and fighting for? The answer to that question is straightforward: our children. Of this, there is no doubt. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse cast a much-needed light on the failures of many institutions across Australia, including government and church institutions, and most prominently my own church. Read more