AUSTRALIA
The Conversation
[Unholy Silence – Four Corners]
Author
Judy Courtin
PhD Student, Faculty of Law at Monash University
The ABC’s 4 Corners this week exposed blatant concealment of a priest’s sexual assaults and rapes of children by the Catholic church in NSW. Admissions of guilt were made by the offender and documented in a church internal document.
The three senior priests who witnessed these admissions did not report these sex crimes to the police. They were legally obliged to do so. Such cover-up, or containment of these crimes, is also obvious in the church’s internal complaints processes.
The Archdiocese of Sydney has said it will now investigate this meeting.
The need for full mandatory reporting laws
The mandatory reporting requirements of child abuse and sex crimes vary from state to state in Australia. This confusion leads to an erratic response from those to whom the laws apply.
In Victoria and the majority of other states clergy and church personnel (unless they are a teacher or health care provider) are not required to report such matters to the police.
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