Foxy,

"What I would like to see happen is that a law
is passed to make it mandatory for child sexual
abuse confessed in a Confessional to be reported
to the police. This may help."

What?

A priests word against that of an ordinary person?

Who to believe and what's more putting enormous power into the hands of clergymen to hit someone that they don't like.

We need less of conviction without evidence, or do you envision recording of private confession by a third party?

Dear Foxy,

«What I would like to see happen is that a law
is passed to make it mandatory for child sexual
abuse confessed in a Confessional to be reported
to the police. This may help.»

The only ones it could help are those who hate religion.
I propose that this has been their aim all along, to oppress the religious, that it never had anything to do with child-abuse to begin with.

A priest will never speak of what they heard in confession, even to the point of death and under torture.
What will happen instead is that confessions will cease and/or go underground or overseas.

Some people are going to rejoice at the resulting diminishing of religion, but no paedophile would ever be discovered that way, also because child-molesters never confess it.

There could however be cases of criminals who wish to settle-accounts with someone, paying a priest to falsely testify that such-and-such confessed to them of molesting children.

The biggest losers are victims, molested children, most of whom (and rightly so) do not want the information to reach anyone, especially not their families. They ALREADY cannot inform their teachers, doctors, psychologists or other therapists because they know that these are legally obliged to report the abuse to the police, so in whom can they confide? So far they could still confide with a priest, in confession, and be assured that their secret will go with the priest to their grave. This gives them some release, including from their own [misplaced] guilt, then if this option is to be denied as well, what are they left with? Increased child suicide rates!

Thanks, Foxy, it was some time back now. One of the great regrets & curses of my service, unfortunately.

Yuyutsu,

There is provision within the Catholic Church for the priest to give General Absolution, that is to a group of people (as large as you like) who make a silent confession.
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33707

Like to see someone pass a law forbidding that.

Foxy,

Suggest that you study your alleged Catholicism a bit deeper.

Dear Is Mise,

Confession to a living person has a great spiritual and therapeutic value, far beyond the absolution aspect: assuming people would attend it anyway, it could be as beneficial even without the sweetener of absolution.

«Like to see someone pass a law forbidding that.»

Give them a finger and they will want to bite off your whole hand.
The anti-religious movement gets bolder and bolder, so if you let them get their way, one day it will indeed become a criminal act to mention God's name.

Issy,

School teachers and Catholic priests, caulk and cheese. One group, with the vast majority, well adjusted normal citizens, living normal lives, the other mob consists of a high number of perverted religious zealots. The Catholic church with its gross under estimation, puts the figure of paedophiles in the ranks at 7%. I would say more like 30% to 50%. From my schools day, my observation of priests and brothers, one third appeared "normal", one third complete religious nutters, the rest could have fallen any way.

Question; What concrete steps has the Catholic Church in Australia taken to reduce the number of paedophiles in its ranks?