Australian bishops Archives

Australia to amend religious freedom bills to consider health facilities

Catholic News Service, Church in Oceania
Oct 17, 2019

The Australian government said it will make changes to religious freedom legislation concerning religious hospitals and aged-care facilities, after the Catholic Church pushed for changes to a recently released draft legislation package.

Australian states to have priests report abuse disclosed in confession

Catholic News Service, Church in Oceania
Sep 26, 2019

The Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania have become the latest in the country to pass legislation criminalizing priests who fail to report the abuse of children disclosed during confession.

New admission by diocese could cost Australian Church millions in claims

Catholic News Service, Church in Oceania
Sep 13, 2019

The Australian Catholic Church could face tens of millions of dollars in compensation claims after the Diocese of Ballarat in Victoria state admitted, for the first time, it knew of the behavior of a pedophile priest yet continued to move him around from parish to parish.

Some Australians fear religious freedom laws won’t give enough protection

Catholic News Service, Church in Oceania
Aug 28, 2019

The Australian government is preparing to introduce the country’s first religious freedom laws, but some senior Catholic clerics are concerned they may not go far enough.

Pell verdict an emotional, polarizing case for Australians

Church in Oceania
Aug 23, 2019

When an Australian court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of Cardinal George Pell for abusing minors, the ruling drew mixed reactions from Australians ranging from celebration, to tears, and for some, a desire to simply move on.

Pell’s appeal argued ‘solid obstacles’ precluded convictions

Associated Press, Church in Oceania
Aug 20, 2019

Cardinal George Pell’s lawyers argued in his appeal that there were more than a dozen “solid obstacles” that should have prevented a jury from finding him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of molesting two choirboys.