Ballarat Bishop Paul Bird says mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse by clergy to police must be the Catholic Church’s highest priority.
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“The Victorian Crimes Act says that any adult who forms a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed against a child under the age of 16 years has an obligation to report that information to police,” Bishop Bird said. “Beyond the legal obligation, all of us have a moral obligation to report such crimes.”
His words come in the wake of the release of a new training guideline written by French monsignor Tony Anatrella, a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family, and released by the Vatican this month. It tells newly appointed bishops it is “not necessarily” their duty to report allegations of child sexual abuse and only victims or their families should decide whether to report abuse to police.
The document emphasised while bishops must be aware of local laws, their only duty was to address sex abuse allegations internally. Truth, Justice and Healing chief executive Francis Sullivan said bishops and religious leaders were morally obliged to do everything they can to ensure police are aware of incidents of sexual abuse.
He said since 2011, the church’s Towards Healing policy has required religious leaders to report any information to the police “regardless of the law”. Even instances where sexual abuse victims are opposed to going to the police, Mr Sullivan said clergy had a moral obligation to disclose allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Church officials should notify police about any information they have about perpetrators,” he said. “We would say giving police information about perpetrators is a part of their obligation but we would also say adult survivors of abuse have their own legal rights and rights to privacy.”
Mr Sullivan called for a national provision in criminal law to oblige reporting. Despite changes in some states, the law still does not require bishops to report abuse, unless the child is under 16 when the report is made.
“While bishops are not obliged at law in Australia to report abuse, they are morally obliged to give as much information as possible to the police… to help ensure the offender is taken out of circulation and to limit the risk of further abuse,” Mr Sullivan said.
Ballarat survivor Andrew Collins said it was a sad indictment laws must be enforced to stop clergy abusing children. “You’d think an organisation such as the church would be able to self-regulate but as we’ve seen they cant,” Mr Collins said. “If the church is serious about stopping abuse they would enshrine compulsory sexual abuse reporting into Cannon Law.”