Priests Told to Report Child Sex Abuse

The Australian
December 30, 2012

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/priests-told-to-report-child-sex-abuse/story-e6frg6n6-1226545048887

Francis Sullivan, chief of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council. Picture: Matthew Poon Source: The Sunday Telegraph

PRIESTS should be required by law to report cases of suspected child sex abuse - without breaking the seal of the confessional - according to the new chief of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

Francis Sullivan, a committed Catholic, also believes offering a weekly prayer for victims and a moment's silence during mass could help the church atone for atrocities.

He has also warned he wants to be an independent voice for victims and their families, not an apologist for the church.

The Truth, Justice and Healing Council was established by the Catholic Church to co-ordinate its response to next year's royal commission, prompting sceptics to question the new organisation.

But Mr Sullivan said he believed the church should consider backing mandatory reporting guidelines for priests when they believe a child is at risk, as teachers and nurses do.

"I think mandatory reporting will need to come on the table very seriously," Mr Sullivan said.

"There's no running away from the law and what the law requires. But to ultimately find reconciliation you need to do more than just abide by the law."

However, like Catholic priest Father Frank Brennan, Mr Sullivan is concerned the debate about forcing priests to break the seal of the confessional and report priests who confess abuse may be a "furphy".

"Individuals who are child sexual predators and paedophiles, it is my understanding that part of their psychiatric condition is that the individual doesn't believe they have done anything wrong," he said.

"So they are not going to front up to the confessional. This is more an issue that the government wants to know that institutions have in place watertight processes that will have the safety of children paramount."

Fr Brennan has suggested priests may still be able to report a child is at risk if they hear it at confessional without identifying perpetrators.

Mr Sullivan also wants to focus on making amends to victims. He said: "As a church community it would be a good idea, say at the end of mass, that the community does a simple prayer and maybe a moment of silence to recognise not only what's going on for people who have been damaged but also the fact we believe in a God of compassion and a God who heals."

Mr Sullivan said he would not comment on criticism that Archbishop George Pell had struck the wrong note on the royal commission.

"What I will say is this: we have called the council 'truth, justice and healing', because truth needs to be revealed," he said.

"First and foremost this is about putting the welfare of the victims and people who have been damaged by these atrocities as the number one priority. And I am particularly concerned that the compassionate pastoral voice of the church is heard in this debate. Not a legal voice that at times can be evasive."