Royal commission to consider confessional seal

Updated

The royal commission into child sex abuse is likely to consider whether Catholic priests should be forced to tell police about crimes against children told to them in the confessional.

There are growing calls for priests to be subject to the same mandatory reporting rules that other professions are, despite church rules that the confessional should remain secret.

Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says the idea that priests are not required to go to the police with information about child abuse is "abhorrent".

"Child sex abuse is a crime, it should be reported, and I know that the royal commission is going to have some very complex issues to deal with," Ms Roxon told ABC News 24.

"But I think we can't afford to say that that should not be on the table, because clearly that is a concern."

Australia's most senior Catholic, Sydney Archbishop George Pell, yesterday said the seal of confession was "inviolable", a position that has put him at odds with some senior MPs who are part of the church.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell, who is a Catholic, says he cannot fathom why priests should not be required to pass on evidence of child abuse to police.

"I think the law of the land when it comes to particularly mandatory reporting around issues to do with children should apply to everyone equally," Mr O'Farrell told AM.

"How can you possibly, by the continuation of this practice, potentially continue to give... a free pass to people who've engaged in the most heinous of acts?"

Federal Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne, who is also a Catholic, believes criminal law should take priority over church rules when it comes to child abuse.

"If a priest hears in a confessional a crime, especially a crime against a minor, the priest has the responsibility in my view to report that to the appropriate authorities," Mr Pyne told ABC News.

"In this case the police, because the church nor the priests should be above the law."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has backed the idea, saying there are already various legal requirements on people if they become aware of sexual offences against children.

"The law is no respecter of persons - everyone has to obey the law, regardless of what job they're doing, regardless of what position they hold," Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane.

Asked if that included priests as well, Mr Abbott replied: "Indeed."

Each state and territory has its own mandatory reporting requirements, with the South Australian rules specifically excluding disclosures made in the confessional.

Consultations begin

Ms Roxon has begun consulting with her state counterparts about the scope and scale of the royal commission, but says it is already clear that more than one commissioner will be required to do the work.

The inquiry is likely to begin early next year, and Ms Roxon is warning it will take years, not months to finish the investigation.

But she says people should not view it as a substitute for police action, and is urging people with evidence of child sex abuse to go to the authorities.

"Individual matters still need to be dealt with first and foremost by the police," she said.

"Part of the complexity in dealing with the terms of reference is to make sure that the focus, as the Prime Minister has said, is institutional and systematic and working out ways to protect children better in the future and make sure that our institutions don't fail them.

"But we also need some sort of outlet for individuals who want to be able to tell their story and make sure that the commissioners are aware what happened with them."

The Prime Minister announced the royal commission on Monday, in the wake of explosive allegations from a New South Wales police investigator who accused the church of covering up evidence in relation to paedophile priests.

The inquiry will cover the treatment of children in all institutions - not just the Catholic Church, which has been facing particular scrutiny.

"We're asking the royal commission to look at what went wrong in particular institutions," Ms Roxon said.

"This isn't an inquiry just about the Catholic Church but it obviously will include them.

"Ultimately I think the thing that's important is to pick commissioners with high standing and appropriate experience and let them do the job that the Government and the community is asking them to do, which is sifting through what any sorts of barriers, institutional or systematic were there, that when children who had already been treated appallingly raised matters they were then let down as well by other adults."

Key interviews: The road to the royal commission 'Explosive' allegations Lateline, November 8: Chief Inspector Peter Fox calls for a royal commission. Gillard acts November 12: Julia Gillard announces a royal commission into institutional responses to instances of child sexual abuse. 'My career is over' Lateline, November 12: Chief Inspector Peter Fox reveals he has been vilified by others within the police force for speaking out. Parents' harrowing story ABC News Breakfast, November 13: Two of Anthony and Chrissie Foster's daughters were raped by a Catholic priest. They shared their response to the announcement of a royal commission with ABC News Breakfast. 'We will cooperate' November 13: Archbishop of Sydney George Pell accuses the press of "exaggerating" the extent of abuse in the Catholic Church. Politically messy? Lateline, November 12: Priest, lawyer and professor of law Father Frank Brennan airs his concerns about the royal commission.

Topics: child-abuse, catholic, federal-government, australia

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