AUSTRALIA
The Australian
August 14, 2017
JOHN FERGUSON
Victorian EditorMelbourne
@fergusonjw
Secrets of the confessional would no longer be an excuse for failing to report child sexual abuse under royal commission recommendations.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse today released 85 new recommendations to reform the nation’s criminal justice systems.
The report recommends making the failure to report child sex abuse in institutions a criminal offence, extending to religious confessions.
It specifically states that clergy should not be able to refuse to report a sex abuse crime detailed in the confessional.
The recommendation will spark an uproar, particularly in the Catholic Church, which treats as strictly confidential matters discussed in the confessional.
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