Asia Bibi appeals for the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws
- Apr 21, 2021
A new law requires priests in the state of Queensland to break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse to police or face three years in jail.
Although reaffirming the principle that the seal of confession can never be violated, the Vatican has told Church leaders in Australia that victims of sexual abuse should be encouraged to report abuse to the proper authorities.
Plans are moving forward for a new national system in Australia for handling clergy abuse complaints.
Australian Cardinal George Pell knew a priest had been moved decades ago because he had sexually abused children, and should have removed an unstable priest in another parish who was also a suspected pedophile, a government inquiry concluded.
Cardinal George Pell will have his last chance to have his conviction for sexually abusing two 13-year old choirboys overturned when his lawyers plead his case to the High Court of Australia March 11-12.
The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference is the latest of the country’s senior clerics to push back against legislation to lift the seal of confession for child sexual abuse.
A six-person committee charged with reviewing church governance and management is expected to present Australia’s bishops with a plan to overhaul the management of the Church in the country.
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.