Saturday, July 23, 2011

First Ireland, Now Australia

This story came from The Courier Mail via Fr. Zuhlsdorf:


The federal government is being urged to follow the lead of Ireland and force priests to report confessions of child abuse to the authorities.

Ireland has announced it will change the law so that Catholic clerics will be prosecuted if they don't report crimes disclosed during confession.

It follows outrage there over the long-running cover-up of child sex abuse cases within the Church.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon said Australia should legislate accordingly, and argued it was unacceptable for priests to hide behind religious practice.

"There is no contest when it comes to protecting the innocence of a child or maintaining a religious practice," he told reporters in Canberra today.

While we talked about this before, I admit that I didn't expect to see it spread this fast. Note again that there is no suggestion as to how they are going to manage the respective legal burdens in these cases. The only way to make it work is simply to take the word of the penitent in question. Which basically leaves the priests open to accusations from anyone with no real evidence required. Neat how that works out.

Unlike Ireland, this new effort seems specifically focused on the Church, with no other professions/vocations included.

On a side note, Mr. Xenophon (ironic name, yes?) even presented himself as a theologian:

"Why should someone be absolved of their sins ... when it comes to child abuse because they've got a pat on the back from their priest?"

I guess he probably wouldn't find "because God is merciful" a satisfactory answer. I wonder what his own answer is for how someone is absolved of a sin. Or what his definition of "sin" is in the first place. Or if he realizes that he'd fit in well as a flunky of the Anti-Christ.

2 comments:

Akasha said...

You really ought to appreciate the last part of that article: "He said it was time for the government to stop the confessional being abused and denied a suggestion it would only prevent criminals from telling all to their priests." @ http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/nick-xenophon-urges-government-to-force-priests-to-report-confessions-of-child-abuse/story-e6freoo6-1226099268403

These predators feed off the helpless abusing the confessional of all that come to them to "absolve them of their sins"...yet while taking the child's trust in vain he is committing a horrendous sin in itself...he thinks he is "god over souls" so why would he need to be forgiven?

They pat themselves on the back, thus to ask forgiveness of a sin they deem not as "sin" in the first place, is all for the show...they want to look innocent like the innocents they abuse...because no "god is ever to blame but the kid itself who led him into temptation"...it is sad that they dream of being legends by indulging in such criminal acts, yet when it comes to justice they simply cannot admit what they have done (who and what they really are) playing the victim instead...Denial always demands pardon.

Why would they demand forgiveness? Because they believe what they had done to be right...so holy they are...innocent for abusing innocents - that is a pedophile's range of logic.

Akasha said...

I read the article again, only to find that it was not the priest but in fact the people who were abusing the children.

Yet if there are so many child abuse cases frequently occurring in catholic churches, then of course the priest will understand and pat the criminal on its back...especially if the government itself is indulging in ritual child sacrificing [Satanic] practices, which is truly ironic to see that they suddenly wish to change the law if they are self then guilty of such horrid practices...as I have said before - the guilty would always play victim...or innocent...anything for that pure image out to the world.

The priest (or any other “normal” citizen) will always take the punch for the government’s own indiscretions…they commit the same sins, but who would take the fall? In this case the criminals are being punished for crimes the government itself are guilty of.