Pell and other allegations

No sh!!t Sherlock.

It’s sll just too hard to stop pedophiles so why bother.

And I can’t wait until the state election roles around and he wants us all to get lathered up about African gangs.

1 Like

I just think its getting very close to star chamber type territory.

Is it not ironic that most on this forum consider priests to be untrustworthy and a menace yet they also consider these same priests trustworthy enough to not mischievously report false statements for people who they consider as enemies.

I think you changed your post to make it a little less stupid

1 Like

What’s your view on Muslims reporting radicalised members of their community to the authorities?

It’s a matter of weighing up the pros and cons. On one side, you have a particular, specific and relatively unusual element of the traditional confessional/confessor confidentiality ‘agreement’ nullified. On the other, you have the potential to aquire vital evidence in a particularly heinous crime. Absolutely no contest, in my opinion. If you disagree with that, you’d need to make a pretty solid and comprehensive argument and without any distracting side-tracks for anyone to take it seriously.

On the 2nd paragraph - the point you make has no bearing on the matter, and is a separate issue. We’ve already discussed how often a piece of information may or may not come to light - it’s not the argument.

I don’t think it’s unreasonably to question the Church’s pocy and behaviors in of dealing with child sexual abuse, particularly by long after the RC. They have, in my opinion, a morality deficit. The remarks by the AB do not help their cause.

I’m happy enough for priests to report people who confess to kiddy-fiddling, but a couple of questions would apply.

Firstly, surely this couldn’t be evidence in a trial…wouldn’t it just be hearsay?

Secondly, would people then want priests to report other transgressions like theft or assault, or worse?

I wouldn’t have thought so. I always thought hearsay was where someone tells you what someone else said and you report on that ie not directly from source

He said, she said, then.

1 Like

Or shoplifting, or taking drugs or secretly coveting someone’s wife !!!

Is this where we want to be as a society?

You know he’s not going to answer this question

3 Likes

Everybody is assuming all these pedos confess to other priests but is this really the case?

You introduce this law and there is no chance a pedo would confess. And how the hell do you prove that a pedo actually confessed to a priest? The priest won’t dob himself in and I doubt the pedo would. Not sure this law would be anything other than tokenistic and next to useless.

Yes it is hearsay, but admissions have always been an exception to the rule excluding hearsay from evidence. That’s why confessions to cops are admitted.

Catholic cannon should not supersede our civil laws. Why should this sub section of society set its own law.

Confessional is also a place for catholic children to reveal what is happening to them.

5 Likes

Children go to confession. Especially before sacraments. They could disclose something that is happening to them.

1 Like

Ok fair enough - I haven’t followed this thread closely and I thought the proposed law was to target priests who hear comfessions from pedophile priests.

I think it’s a result of a recommendation from the RC. My gripe is lack of consistency- if it’s good enough for medical/education/social professions to have mandatory reporting, it’s good enough for faith based ones.

I thought that might only be admissions to police or other civil authorities.

There is nothing weird about Confession; indeed it is part of the Catholic faith and as important to Catholics as sacraments like Communion. And if you think it is used as a “free form of therapy” then you know nothing about the Catholic faith, and cannot possibly be a Catholic.

I was one once, but grew a brain.