Displaying items by tag: Seal of Confession
Church and State in the Age of Covid
The Christian churches, their beliefs, their sacred practices and their pastors are under attack. From new atheists, secularists, progressives - and from the state itself. The state's assumption of extraordinary and dictatorial powers during the year of Covid has not been without impact on the Church. The Covid state has imposed all sorts of restrictions on the faithful. Caesar has taken more than his due.
Attacking the seal of confession in Australia
Laws which mandated breaking the seal of the confessional were enacted in two Australian states last week. In Victoria, the penalty for failing to report child sexual abuse admitted in confession is up to three years imprisonment, while in Tasmania, the maximum penalty is 21 years’ in prison - which is the same penalty in that state for crimes such as rape.
Church and State: Mandatory Reporting and the Confessional
On the 7th June, in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, (and now in South Australia, starting on October 1st), it has been enshrined in law through the introduction of the Ombudsman Amendment Bill 2018 giving the State[s] power to compel ‘minister of religion, religious leader, officers of a religious body, an individual primarily in charge, or any person who provides services for the religious body’ to report ‘Reportable Conduct’ heard in a confession.
