AUSTRALIA
9 News
By Claire Abraham
The Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has revealed he would not break the Seal of the Confessional and inform authorities if a child during confession told him they had been abused, but instead would try and persuade the child to tell someone.
Senior Counsel Gail Furness drew mixed responses from the five bishops when she asked them what they would do if a fictional child, “Sally”, reported abuse to them during confession.
“I will do everything in my power to persuade the child to come with me to the police,” Archbishop Anthony Fisher said.
“If I can’t persuade that child of that option, having tried everything I can, then I believe I’m bound by the seal of confession to not repeat it.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.