AUSTRALIA
Crux
March 28, 2019
An archbishop in Australia has said priests will not report crimes if that involved breaching the seal of confession, after a new mandatory reporting law was passed in the Australian Capital Territory.
Starting Monday, all people in the territory will have to report allegations of child abuse, including religious ministers who hear the allegation in a confessional. If convicted, those that fail to report face up to two years in jail.
Church law forbids the revelation of any sin admitted in confession under the penalty of excommunication.
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