Catholic Church Rejects Call To report sexual abuse revealed during their confessions

The Catholic Church in Australia has officially rejected the recommendation of a historic inquiry that priests should be required to report sexual abuse revealed during their confessions.

The five-year survey revealed that tens of thousands of children had been abused in Australian institutions. The Catholic Church had the most cases.

On Friday, church leaders accepted most of the recommendations of the survey.

However, they reiterated that breaking the confession was "contrary to our faith".


"We are committed to protecting children and vulnerable people while maintaining the seal," said the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference in a statement.

"We do not see the seal as mutually exclusive."

Church leaders said they would explore other proposals, including asking the Vatican to relax the rules on celibacy.

The Royal Commission's investigation, which concluded in December, resulted in more than 8,000 cases of abuse in churches, schools and sports clubs.