Tony Abbott's Hard Line on Priests and Abuse

NEWS.com.au
November 15, 2012

http://www.news.com.au/national/tony-abbotts-hard-line-on-priests-and-abuse/story-fndo4bst-1226517718803

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says the sanctity of the confessional should not exempt priests from reporting child abuse - but his local bishop does not agree.

Mr Abbott, a devout Catholic who once studied to be a priest, said on Wednesday that everyone should be obliged to obey the law and report knowledge of child abuse. This applied to priests as well.

"If they become aware of sexual offences against children, those legal requirements must be adhered to," he said.

"Everyone has to obey the law, regardless of what position they hold." Asked if that applied to priests, Mr Abbott said: "Indeed."

But the head of the Diocese of Broken Bay, Bishop David Walker, said he did not agree.

"I think the confessional should be sacred and I don't think it would achieve anything if this was changed," Bishop Walker said.

He did support the royal commission announced this week into institutional responses to allegations of child sex abuse in Australia.

The commission is likely to consider the Catholic church's seal of the confessional, which Prime Minister Julia Gillard also does not support.

Bishop Walker has been a priest for 50 years and head of the diocese for 16 years. In his experience only a small proportion of the clergy were involved in abuse: "There has been so much wild talk, there needs to be an official look at it. What was important was to look at how all institutions cared for children and perhaps the focus would then move on to families as well."