PRIESTS in Queensland will be forced to break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse to police. New laws passed through Queensland Parliament on Tuesday, September 8 mean religious institutions and their members are no longer able to use the sanctity of the confessional as a defence or excuse in child sex abuse matters. The laws passed with ... Read More »
QUEENSLAND Law Society President Luke Murphy warned proposed legislation to scrap the seal of confession could pave the way for the removal of other confidential privileges like lawyer-client privilege. Mr Murphy, who wrote the Queensland Law Society submission to the State Parliament, outlined six flaws in removing the seal. “Removing the privilege associated with religious confession will set a dangerous ... Read More »
STRIPPING Catholics of the seal of confession made priests “less a servant of God than an agent of the state”, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said in a submission to Queensland Parliament published early in January. Archbishop Coleridge was clear – the violation of the seal of confession ran the risk of forbidding the celebration of the sacrament in Queensland. “The state ... Read More »
A LEADING psychiatrist has described efforts to remove the confessional seal as a “distraction” as governments continue to respond to the final report of the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Associate Professor Carolyn Quadrio, who was an expert witness at the Royal Commission, said she agreed with clergy views that confessions of sexual abuse were extremely ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
