Lisa Wilkinson Claims Altar Boys Are Just "Prey" for Paedophile Priests in Extraordinary Attack on the Catholic Church for Producing "Generation after Generation of Damaged Humans"

By Charlie Moore
Daily Mail
July 11, 2018

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5944551/Lisa-Wilkinson-claims-altar-boys-just-prey-paedophile-priests-extraordinary-attack.html

Lisa Wilkinson last night claimed that altar boys were 'prey' for paedophile Catholic priests.

Supporting a proposal to fine priests who fail to report abuse, she said: 'If altar boys in particular are seen as prey for priests then we have to step in, and in a major way.'

'The church has been a rule unto itself, and we've had generation after generation of damaged humans,' she continued.

Mrs Wilkinson made the comments in a heated discussion with co-presenter Waleed Aly on Channel Ten's The Project.

Clash: Lisa Wilkinson (right) and Waleed Aly (left) have had a tense disagreement over the Royal Commission's proposal to criminalise Catholic priests who fail to break the confessional seal to report admissions of child abuse

The Victorian Government is considering fining priests $10,000 if they fail to break the seal of confession to report penitents' admissions of child abuse.

Mrs Wilkinson, 58, argued the changes were necessary to provide justice for victims.

Mr Aly, 39, suggested the law would be unenforceable and therefore pointless.

South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and Western Australia have announced plans to introduce the law but the Victorian Government said on Wednesday it needed 'further consideration'.

Priests say the law amounts to the state overreaching into the domain of the sacred and violating religious freedom.

They also say it will not help convict abusers because confessions are often vague and anonymous.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney wrote in the Australasian Catholic Record: 'Breaking the seal would not serve to protect a single child; rather, it would help to ­ensure that such matters were never raised in confession.'

Supporters of the new law say priests who have knowledge or suspicion of child sex abuse should be required to report that to police in the same way professionals are.

One viewer wrote on Twitter: 'We live in a secular society. Canon law is as abhorrent as sharia.'

Another added: 'No religion should be above the law.'

Lisa argued: 'For me it's a no-brainer, there are children, many many generations of children who have suffered, for the Government to not want to make these changes as a matter of urgency just makes no sense to me.'

Waleed asked: 'Help me out here, because here's the thing I don't understand: How would introducing a law like this actually stop any of this happening?'

Argument: Lisa, 58, argued the changes were necessary to provide absolution for victims of abuse, while Waleed, 39, insisted the proposal presents a catch-22 for priests

'Help me out here, because here's the thing I don't understand: how would introducing a law like this actually stop any of this happening?' Waleed asked Lisa

Lisa replied: 'It wouldn't. It would send a message throughout the entire church that "this much and no more" - that we've protected this behaviour for too long, and no one is above the law.'

Waleed snapped back: 'OK, fine, but consider yourself in the position of a priest who's hearing that.

'I'm not a Catholic, I have no interest in defending the confession, but breaking the seal of confession for priest is an excommunicable offence - it's eternal damnation.

'So now you're giving them a choice between eternal damnation, or a $10,000 fine?

'I just can't see any of them making the decision to avoid a $10,000 fine for the sake of that.'

Lisa replied: It would send a message throughout the entire church that 'this much and no more", that we've protected this behaviour for too long, and no one is above the law'

But Waleed argued the proposal effectively gives priests 'a choice between eternal damnation [by breaking the seal] or a $10,000 fine'

Lisa replied: 'But it removed the perpetrators' chance of absolution!'

'But it doesn't,' Waleed claimed, 'because if a priest cares enough to be a priest, they'll maintain that [confessional] seal - the church have already said they're going to maintain the seal.'

Lisa argued the Government could not let the current system continue, 'because the church has been a rule unto itself, and we've had generation after generation of damaged humans.

'And if children - and in particular altar boys - are seen as prey for priests, then we have to step in in a major way.'

Lisa and Waleed still couldn't see eye-to-eye, so co-panellist Tommy Little stepped in to clarify Waleed's argument.

'You think the new law is essentially asking priests to hand their faith away to save $10,000?'

'Yes, and I get the appeal of legislating for that, but I can't imagine the scenario in my head where it works,' Waleed replied.

Stepped in: Lisa and Waleed still couldn't see eye-to-eye, so co-panellist Tommy Little stepped in to clarify Waleed's argument