AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au
Tory Shepherd
news.com.au
November 13, 2012
SOME priests think pedophilia does not “break celibacy” and that sins can be confessed away, one of the nation’s top child protection experts says.
Emeritus Professor Freda Briggs, who has just published a seminal text on child protection, says sexual abuse by a priest is “the most damaging of all” for children and that the Catholic Church is guilty of forgiving priests instead of punishing them.
Her comments come after Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a sweeping federal royal commission into institutional child sex abuse, which was sparked by revelations of abuse within the Catholic Church.
Asked whether Catholic celibacy was a possible contributor to child sex abuse, Prof Briggs told news.com.au celibacy was not the problem “for men who are sexually attracted to children” anyway.
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