Australia’s Catholic bishops have decided to set up a special council — including bishops, religious and lay people — to work with the forthcoming royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse. At the end of their twice-yearly conference in Sydney, the bishops said they had formed a supervisory group of representatives from the Read more
Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities begins: ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.’ If we take St Paul seriously, the worst of times can be the best of times for Christians. In his biblical account of faith, he sees adversity, trial, rejection and hardship as the nodal points Read more
The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Australia can only be a good thing for the Catholic Church. It is a chance to account for the betrayal and crimes of priests and other church representatives who committed acts of abuse against the vulnerable, and for the careless, even callous way in which many church Read more
The sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church represents so much sinfulness that it seems to drive home Jesus’ point: by their fruits you shall know them. Australian Catholics are going to face very difficult questions as this Royal Commission conducts its work: What do we really know of our Church? How can we Read more
As the controversy over the sexual abuse of children continues in Australia, politicians and editorial writers are calling for Catholic priests to be forced to break the seal of confession in sex-abuse cases. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon labeled the seal of confession an anachronism and told reporters: “This is a medieval law that needs to Read more
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney says priests should refuse to hear confessions from suspected child abusers to ensure they were not then bound by the confidentiality of the confessional. “If the priest knows beforehand about such a situation, the priest should refuse to hear the confession, that would be my advice. I would never hear Read more
Responding to widespread pressure, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a royal commission into institutional responses to sex abuse across the nation. Her decision followed new revelations about a Catholic religious order at a parliamentary inquiry in Victoria and the launching of a commission of inquiry into police handling of abuse by Catholic priests Read more