Catholic Church Opposes Expansion of Child Sexual Abuse Reporting in Wa

Australian Associated Press
May 23, 2019

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/23/catholic-church-opposes-expansion-of-child-sexual-abuse-reporting-in-wa

Religious ministers in Western Australia will be compelled to reveal knowledge of child sexual abuse – even if it is gained through the confessional – but the Catholic church is resisting.

The WA Labor government plans to expand mandatory reporting laws to include all recognised religious leaders who are authorised to conduct worship, services and ceremonies.

This includes priests, ministers, imams, rabbis, pastors and Salvation Army officers.

The laws already apply in WA to doctors, teachers, nurses, midwives, police and school boarding supervisors.

The child protection minister, Simone McGurk, said Perth’s Catholic archbishop, Timothy Costelloe, had contacted the state government, saying he was concerned about child sexual abuse and understood it was an urgent issue, “but urged us not to change the laws”.

“I understand that’s the Catholic church’s position,” McGurk said on Thursday. “However, as a government, we have an obligation to put in place laws and to implement laws to make sure children in our communities are safe.”

Costelloe made the plea when the WA government issued its reaction to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

The changes would deliver an important recommendation within WA’s response to the inquiry, McGurk said.

“It will apply to any information gained through the course of their work, whether it’s in paid time or unpaid time, and it’s any suspicion that they receive,” she said.

“It might be from abuse being perpetrated by members of the public, members of their congregation, for instance, or by other religious clergy.”

Under WA’s existing mandatory reporting laws, anyone convicted of failing to report faces a maximum fine of $6,000 and will probably be banned from working with children, McGurk said.

Two former teachers are currently before the courts and are the first in WA to be charged with failing to report.

The amendment will be introduced to parliament later this year.

South Australia and the Northern Territory already require ministers of religion to report abuse and Victoria has pledged to do the same but only as part of national action.

A similar proposal is before the Tasmanian parliament.

Costelloe is expected to issue a statement later on Thursday.

He last year said that under canon law, priests face excommunication for breaking the seal of the confessional, and child abusers would not go to confession if the law was changed.