AUSTRALIA
Christian Today

Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

Thursday, 11 October 2012, 9:10 (EST)

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, today announced that the Catholic Church in Victoria supported extending mandatory reporting under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 to ministers of religion and other religious personnel, and the reporting of child abuse to police.

Archbishop Hart was speaking on behalf of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Victoria, following the publication by the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations of the Catholic Church in Victoria’s submission, Facing the Truth.

“In Facing the Truth the Church supports the extension of mandatory reporting of cases of suspected child abuse to ministers of religion and other religious personnel, with an exemption for information received during the rite of confession. It also proposes a mechanism for reporting child abuse to police…