AUSTRALIA
The New Daily
Lucie Morris-Marr
It’s little wonder an alarming tantrum by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, has gone global this week.
The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said protections for confession should be respected – even if details of child abuse are raised.
The long-time supporter and friend of Cardinal George Pell said he would rather go to jail than break the holy “seal” of confession.
His comments came after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse detailed 85 proposed sweeping changes to the law in a report – including the recommendation that clergy who failed to report information about child abuse would face criminal charges.
Instead of accepting or even considering this change, Archbishop Hart immediately retorted that confession was a “fundamental part of the freedom of religion”.
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