Posted on 01/18/2020 5:28:53 PM PST by marshmallow
Brisbane's Catholic Archbishop has made a formal submission opposing the State Government's plan to make priests report child sex offences revealed in the confessional.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge said while the church was unequivocally committed to the protection of children, breaking the confessional seal would "not make a difference to the safety of young people".
"The proposed legislation would make the priest at this vital point less a servant of God than an agent of the state," he wrote.
"Clergy have died because they have refused to submit to the claims of the state and preferred to defend the rights of the penitent before God and the rights of God before the penitent.
"It is claimed at times that the seal must be abolished in law because it is the linchpin of a culture of secrecy and cover-up.
"The Church rejects such a claim, insisting that the seal is the guarantee of a culture of true disclosure which is the opposite of cover-up."
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended the change to secrecy rules, leading to Queensland's drafting of the proposed Child Sexual Offences Reform Bill.
It is being considered by the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee before being returned to parliament for a vote.
Archbishop Coleridge said breaking the seal had practical limits, as most confessions were anonymous.
Furthermore, a perpetrator or victim might be less likely to raise abuse in confession if confidence in the sacramental seal was undermined.
"The seal recognises the right of the sinful human being to approach God in complete freedom," he wrote.
"It enables the penitent to speak openly before God ... to hide nothing from the God who sees all and forgives all."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc.net.au ...
“to hide nothing from the God who sees all”
How do hide something from God?
If you’re a Roman Catholic, and you believe in the efficacy of Confession as a sacrament, you know that sincere remorse must be present in order for the sacrement to be valid. It seems to me all a bishop needs to do is tell his clergy to inform any sinners confessing child abuse that their remorse cannot be considered sincere unless they turn themselves into the authorities.
If they aren’t going to do that, there’s no point in going to Confession.
If they are going to do that, there’s no need for a law violating the Seal of Confession.
And by the way, I’d be curious to know if there’s any pressure for a similar law that would invalidate lawyer/client confidentiality.
If the law passes priests can get around it by saying “yes,someone confessed abuse but I don’t have the first clue who it was or exactly what day it was”.
I’m no theologian but I don’t think you’re correct.”Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s...”
I think all these mandatory reporting laws for the confessional are kabuki theatre to make people feel good or something. At least so far. None of the supporters of these laws for the confessional deign to give a single example of it actually working anywhere, much less explain how they envision it working in practice. Seems like a pretty low bar.
Freegards
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