Posted on 11/14/2012 10:52:47 AM PST by marshmallow
Australian priests could be forced to breach the seal of the confessional to report child sex abuse amid growing calls to end cover-ups involving the Catholic Church.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday slammed the use of the confessional to avoid reporting abuse, saying it is a "sin of omission" and all adults have a duty to protect children.
She announced this week the launch of a Royal Commission to investigate offences involving religious and non-religious organisations and insisted it will examine not only abuse but the role of institutions in covering it up.
Though the commission's terms of reference are yet to be decided, Ms Gillard said on Wednesday she was concerned about adults "averting their eyes" from crimes against children.
''It's not good enough for people to engage in sin of omission and not act when a child is at risk," she said.
Australia's most powerful Catholic, Archbishop of Sydney George Pell, was this week widely condemned for insisting that priests who hear confessions of child sex abuse must keep quiet because "the Seal of Confession is inviolable".
He said priests should avoid taking confessions from colleagues suspected of being paedophiles but that they cannot then report the crime to police.
"If that is done outside the confessional (it can be passed on)," he said.
"(But) the Seal of Confession is inviolable If the priest knows beforehand about such a situation, the priest should refuse to hear the confession." The strict secrecy of confessions is believed to be more than 1000 years old.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
How's that, exactly? No amount of "force" can oblige them to do anything should they decide not to do so. I think the writer means "ordered", which is what the government may be working towards but perhaps "force" is what the writer is hoping for.
Why doesn’t the Pope just change the seal, an make it ok to report pedophiles?
Like hell. This isn’t going to happen. Priests will go to jail first.
How are they going to enforce this? Send agents into the Confessional wearing a wire?
I assume the law will also require that attorney-client privilege be revoked when a client admits to sexually or otherwise abusing children. Same for any professional privilege of confidentiality when this matter is the subject of that privilege.
To really get the point across due process should be scrapped when anyone is charged with such a crime with all allegations leading to an assumption of guilt.
When did you stop beating your wife?
Ok, let’s follow that thought exercise:
First a disclaimer, I’m Protestant and a Deacon in my church. However, in that capacity I often have conversations (confessions) with the church membership. Many that touch on legal and very sensitive issues. As a church leader, I am expected to have guidance and advice and most of all - to not share what has been spoken in confidence to me. I do not share it with other deacons or the pastor, not even my wife or anyone else unless the member says it is ok for me to share the details. But back to our thought exercise.
So the state first forces the reporting of Pedophiles (for the children). Then it is murder, then it is domestic abuse, then it is tax cheats, then it is cases of fraud, then theft and then ....
Well you get the point. So at some point in time, the person decides to not FULLY confess because their words could be used against them. This is in direct contravention of the scriptures which tell us to confess our sins one to another. The state is then using intimidation to censer a persons’ faith and the free exercise of their religion.
Next the person decide that confession is just not worth the risk, and then they decide that they don’t need to come to church at all. The state’s use of intimidation is now forcing the person away from a possible resource to come clean or to get help.
This is nothing more than a DIRECT attack on the Christian community and an attempt to make irrelevant one of the direct commandments from the New Testament.
He doesn’t have the power to do that.
Hear, hear! Wonderfully put.
That sort of thing would simply end the confessional as we and the Church know it. The confessional does provide an outlet for sinners to confess and to amend. Grave sins, especially if they are also crimes are not simply heard then the penitent gets three Hail Marys and two our Fathers. He is told that he is NOT forgiven if he does not get himself straight with God and the Law. He must cease the actions that lead to or constitute the sin and part of ceasing is to confess felonies to the authorities. In society men are to obey the law, whatever the law is, whatever is the system, except for laws outlawing Christianity. A priest must disobey any law that requires him to report a confession. If he breaks the Church law about confessions he will lose his priestly faculties and will himself have committed a grave sin.
Aside from religious issues: Is what a potential criminal said in confession really good evidence for a trial?
how many pedophiles would confess to a priest under that circumstance? Confession would pretty much cease if there were any category of reportable confession at all. If one thing then sooner or later something else and on and on to everything. Reporting any confession defeats confession and would only happen once. What is the profit to the state of that, other than bringing Religion more under state control?
I agree, really?
A better headline would be Australian Government May Persecute Priests Who Maintain the Seal of the Confessional.
It would never go that far. The first exemption to the seal would end Confession. Then the state would maybe think it has to decreeenact a law that required frequent confession. It would then be another in a series of absurd laws that would serve to put the government right inside the Parish to regulate every facet of religion. Religion would then split into the Government church and the underground Church.
To really get the point across due process should be scrapped when anyone is charged with such a crime with all allegations leading to an assumption of guilt.
Ok, let’s follow that thought exercise:
except for laws outlawing Christianity.
Of course depending on what the Gospel to different people are, if some one considers Pauls writing as the Gospel then you should not mind getting a ticket for breaking the speed limit.
But Jesus said do unto others as you would have them do unto you, which puts a little different light on things.
Actually, no. Do unto others refers to personal actions.
“How are they going to enforce this? Send agents into the Confessional wearing a wire?”
There’s that. They could even wire up real molestors like they use real drug dealers I suppose.
The other possibility is to get discovered child molestors to narc on priests in exchange for reduced sentences I guess. Not sure how anything would be proved, especially if the confession is heard behind a screen, which should be the way they all are done in my opinion.
Another one I can think of is simply have every confession monitored and recorded, keyed up to a program that alerts for certain key words. Of course once the word gets out less would confess that sin, so it would have to be a secret operation, or keep the priest’s trials secret or something.
Truly something for the state to work on and perfect, har har.
Freegards
Why doesn’t the Pope just change the seal, an make it ok to report pedophiles?
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