New Australian Law Requires Priests to Break Seal of Confession to Report Admissions of Child Abuse

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A link to the article from America Magazine: New Australian law requires priests to report abuse admissions made in confessional | America Magazine

A link to the actual amendment to the Obudsman Act of 1989: http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/b/db_58071/current/pdf/db_58071.pdf

According to Pt 11 of the bill, religious Confessions are exempted from it until 31 March 2019, when they will be expected to come into compliance with civil law.

So what happens here when the Church inevitably refuses to comply with the government’s orders?
 
hmikell7 said:
So what happens here when the Church inevitably refuses to comply with the government’s orders?
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“Hi. Police? I need to report a crime. I’m a Catholic priest and somebody just confessed to me that they raped a child.”

“Who was this person? Did you recognize their voice?”

“Nope. No idea. They were behind a screen. I’ve always been bad at recognizing voices.”

I can’t imagine that the authorities can do much more than that. This is a stupid law thats more about virtue signaling than actually accomplishing anything.
 
Interesting side note: any priest that breaks the seal for this law will be excommunicated, so if a priest reports one single thing, he will be unable to hear any more confessions. As a result, they’ll just have all the priests who are willing to violate the seal weeded out.
 
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EvangelistVictor said:
Well nothing will happen unless the guilty person decides to tell authorities after he is caught that he told a priest. Bishops and the magistrates of the CC have been covering up these crimes for thousands of years.
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Somebody sure does have a penchant for drama. :roll_eyes: I’m particularly fond of your use of the plural “thousands”. The Church hasn’t even celebrated her 2000th birthday yet, so you’re either implicating the Apostles or Our Lord himself in this scandal.
 
A priest cannot even do that much.

He will willingly go to prison before divulging a single confessed sin.
 
They’ll have done the right thing and hopefully stopped further child abuse. I’ll admire their sacrifice.
 
I somehow have a feeling that your average perpetrator of a felony is not in the confessional telling the priest about it unless he is planning to turn himself into authorities anyway.
 
AlbertDerGrosse said:
Somebody sure does have a penchant for drama. :roll_eyes: I’m particularly fond of your use of the plural “thousands”. The Church hasn’t even celebrated her 2000th birthday yet, so you’re either implicating the Apostles or Our Lord himself in this scandal.
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Sorry about that, but did catch somebodies attention and your right. Really meant about 1000 years since celibacy was enforced.

I’m really liking the zeal for truth and defending of the faith amongst all the Catholics participating in this forum. Almost Evangelical type being a recent convert back to Catholicism myself.
 
Unjust, but also unnecessary. Any good priest would know not to give absolution unless the penitent turns themselves in to the authorities.
 
giuseppe96 said:
Unjust, but also unnecessary. Any good priest would know not to give absolution unless the penitent turns themselves in to the authorities.
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It is absolutely forbidden to place such a condition on absolution, only a horrible priest would do it, and such a condition would not be binding on the penitent.
 
neophyte said:
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giuseppe96:
Unjust, but also unnecessary. Any good priest would know not to give absolution unless the penitent turns themselves in to the authorities.
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It is absolutely forbidden to place such a condition on absolution, only a horrible priest would do it, and such a condition would not be binding on the penitent.
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If they’re not turning themselves in they don’t seem penitent.
 
From the article, this law is only in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), a small “state” with our capital of Canberra.

The ACT has its own parliament and laws (under federal law), and is typically left-leaning. For instance, in the past it has pushed euthenasia and gay marriage. The demographic is tertiary educated, highly-paid civil servants. (and me, until thirty years ago!)

There is a strong push for our commonwealth government to make similar laws nationally, but also strong opposition. It hasn’t happened yet, and we can’t prognosticate.
On the actual subject, my belief is that there is no chance whatsoever of the Church allowing exceptions to the Seal of the Confessional. Just how they will handle legislation requiring exceptions (if it comes to pass) I don’t know, apart from that they will keep hearing confessions, and not breaking the seal.
 
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neophyte said:
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Alex337:
If they’re not turning themselves in they don’t seem penitent.
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Fortunately for all of us sinners, you don’t have the authority to make that call.
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I know when I confessed my priest told me to make amends to my parents to show actual contrition. Seems the same thing.
 
Alex337 said:
I know when I confessed my priest told me to make amends to my parents to show actual contrition. Seems the same thing.
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I can’t speak to that, but the reality of the law of the Church stands.
 
neophyte said:
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Alex337:
I know when I confessed my priest told me to make amends to my parents to show actual contrition. Seems the same thing.
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I can’t speak to that, but the reality of the law of the Church stands.
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I still think any priest who turns an abuser in is making a very fine sacrifice.
 
TheLittleLady said:
A priest cannot even do that much.
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Are you sure? Priests mention the sins they’ve heard in confession without naming the penitent all the time. I was under the impression that the seal involves revealing the sins of an individual meaning he’d have to actually name them as well.
 
The Gate of Hell will not prevail. Nothing can go against the law of Christ.
 
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