AUSTRALIA
9 News
People confessing to child sex crimes would not be absolved of their sins by the Anglican Church until they reported the matter to police, an inquiry has been told.
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier said while confessions were limited in the church, there was a risk offenders may seek the sacrament to alleviate their conscience.
But the church required confessors to report their crimes to police before they could receive absolution, he told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse.
“There is a risk, and possibly a certain pathology in some offenders, where having any means to convince them that what they’ve done isn’t as bad as what they probably know it is, helps their offending behaviour,” Dr Freier said.
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.