SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Catholic News Service
June 7, 2018
Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of Confession in some cases passed the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly in Canberra June 7.
The purpose of the Ombudsman Amendment Bill 2018 was to expand the Reportable Conduct Scheme governing allegations of child abuse and misconduct to include religious organizations.
The legislation passed without amendment. The Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has nine months to negotiate with the government on how it will work before the start of reportable conduct requirements.
The law’s passage comes weeks after the May 22 conviction of Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, who faces a maximum penalty of two years in jail for failing to inform police about child sexual abuse allegations. The local court in Newcastle found that, in 1976, then-Fr. Wilson had been told by a 15-year-old boy that he had been indecently assaulted by a priest who later died in prison, but that Fr. Wilson, then a parochial vicar, chose not to go to the authorities despite believing the allegations were true.
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