The Australian Commission may ask the Catholic Churches in the country to break the secrecy of confession to reveal pedophiles. The Commission who investigates cases of pedophilia in religious groups and other public institutions in the country published many recommendations to reform Australian law and one among the proposal is for the law to oblige priests to break the seal of confession. According to the Canon law, code 983 defines that “The sacrament seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.”
If the Australian law is reformed then the Catholic priests in the country would face a very difficult situation for they will have to choose between committing perjury or automatic excommunication. The seal of confession goes beyond mere professional secrecy because it is believed that the penitent confesses to the priest by seeing him in the place of Christ.
However, a priest is allowed to warn the police if a person’s life is in danger, without specifying how he found out. The increasing rates of sexual abuse towards children have become a serious threat to the country which made the commission to urge for a reformed law.
Source: wwwromereports.com
