AUSTRALIA
ABC Radio Melbourne
August 14, 2019
The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne has said he would rather go to jail than report admissions of child sexual abuse made in the confessional.
A bill which would make it mandatory for priests to report suspected child abuse to authorities, including abuse revealed in the confessional, was introduced to Victoria’s Parliament on Wednesday morning.
The Catholic Church last year formally rejected the notion that clergy should be legally forced to report abuse revealed during confessions.
Interviewed on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday, Archbishop Peter Comensoli said he did not see the principles of mandatory reporting and the seal of confession as being “mutually exclusive”.
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