AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au
CHILD sex abuse is not a secret priests should keep, prominent Catholics say.
Sydney priest Father Chris Riley, founder of Youth Off The Streets, says he refuses to take confessions because he could not listen to a child sex abuser without reporting them to police.
Melbourne priest and radio host Father Bob Maguire says if a pedophile confessed his sins he’d tell him he would report him. And controversial NSW married priest Father Kevin Lee says he would convince an offender to seek outside help.
Australia’s most powerful Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, is looking increasingly at odds with the Catholic community with his strident defence of the seal of Confession, which means that child sex abusers can confess their sins to a priest and not be reported to police.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.