AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser
Emma D’Agostino
@amassedmedia
17 Aug 2017
SANDHURST Bishop Les Tomlinson has defended the sanctity of confession, despite recommendations to prioritise children’s safety from sexual abuse.
The bishop’s comments were prompted by a report by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
One of its 85 recommendations was to enforce failure to report offences for information about child sexual abuse that was disclosed during, or in connection with, religious confession.
“There should be no excuse, protection nor privilege in relation to religious confessions for the failure to report offence,” the report states.
The writers said they understood the significance of confession. But they said they had heard evidence of confessions relating to child sexual abuse that were not reported to police, and resulted in re-offending.
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