|
By Joe Spagnolo and Gavin Simpson
THE Anglican Church is considering making police checks compulsory for all its WA priests. Bunbury Bishop David McCall has told 30 priests from Mandurah to Albany that they must get police clearances to keep administering the faith. He has also demanded that new priests to the region and Church members who deal with children also have such checks. Bishop McCall said South-West priests supported the move because they recognised Australians had lost faith in church leaders because of sex crime involving children. Existing priests elsewhere in WA do not have to have police checks but new clergy coming into the Perth diocese must have police clearance. |
A spokesman for the Archbishop of Perth, Dr Peter Carnley, said yesterday the Church was actively considering making police checks compulsory for all Anglican priests. But Dr Carnely said his preferred option was for an independent government-run system of screening cards to be introduced nationally. They system would be based on the Queensland model under which anyone seeking to work with children anywhere must have a comprehensive criminal history check. This went beyond a standard police clearance. In Queensland, the Commissioner for Children looks at criminal convictions and charges to determine whether a person is suitable for child-related employment. A successful applicant is given a plastic card |
|
similar to a bankcard which must be presented to a potential employer, such as a school, church or sporting organisation.
Dr Carnley said the national conference of Anglican bishops agreed in April to ask all State premiers to introduce the system and some had already responded. If the national screening card system did not eventuate, the Church would have to think again about its options. Bishop McCall said priests abusing young children had tarnished the reputations of the Anglican and Catholic churches. Parents did not feel as comfortable about letting their children come into contact with priests. He said the Catholic and Anglican churches had lost credibility with the community because they had not been |
open about sex crimes involving priests.
The Church had been wrong to believe priests who were sex offenders would not reoffend because they had confessed their sins and said sorry. "The Christian Church has traditionally said that if there was a case of child abuse and the person was sincerely repentant then they should be forgiven and given another chance," he said. "What was not understood was that people who have abused children will not stop despite having confessed and given all the assurances in the world that they will not reoffend. "The sad reality is that a small percentage of priests who were child abusers were offending again and again." |
|
FURTHER READING
• Former Brisbane Anglican Archbishop Peter Hollingworth (now Governor-General) defends himself against calls for his resignation over promoting a clergy child sex-abuser. The Weekend Australian Feb 16-17 02 • Guidelines for handling clergy abusing children www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/nonmarital.htm Feb 19 02 !!!: Father Kelly's escape to Belgium stymied by 77 more charges The West Australian Feb 28 02 • Viceroy says sorry to abused woman whom he had said aged 14 had initiated sex acts with Donald Shearman (later Anglican Bishop) The West Australian Mar 2 02 !!!: Florida has two sex-abuse R.C. bishops in a row, yet parisioners still support, Boston $15m to $30m extra for Father Geoghan abuse The Record Mar 21 02 !!!: Polish archbishop quits over sneaking along tunnel to seminary dormitory The West Australian Mar 30 02 !!!: Irish Bishop resigns over boy-sex cleric, had tried everything but dismissing Fr Sean Fortune! The West Australian Apr 3 02 !!!: Confessional rapes? Accused U.S. priest Paul Shanley may be jailed for life; Boston diocese backs out of settling for $75m for 86 John Geoghan victims The Sunday Times Perth May 5 02 !!!: Bishop on homosexual priests' internet newsgroup! South African Bishop Cawcutt resigns, http://allafrica.com/stories/200207190010.html and The Record Jul 25 02 !!!: Two US priests up in Canada for pope's youth forum visit put on boy-sex charges! &, Victims claim U.S. priests still abusing The West Australian Jul 31 02 !!!: See-through confessionals in San Jose? "Where seeing is believing" The West Australian Aug 14 02 |
FURTHER READING, continued
• R.C. Sydney Archbishop George Pell faces abuse claim, www.abc.net.au/news/2002/08/ item20020820 ABC news Aug 20 02 • Brisbane Poor Sisters of Nazareth sued in the Supreme Court of Queensland for sexual and physical abuse at orphanage in the 1940s and 1950s, $75,000 compensation already paid. -- The Bulletin http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/EdDesk. "Breach of Faith," Wed Aug 28 02 • "The facts about Wesley College" principal John Bednall's website breaches, police were told, and he resigned. Western Impact Sep 02, p 1 • Church leaders knew priests were doing unspeakable things to kids, and ignored it. -- Answer to Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan's Sep 5 statement that the Church lacked child-abuse insight. Approximately Sep 14 2002 • "Party priest jailed for sex abuse of schoolboys, " 10 1/2-year term by NSW court; Fr Vincent Kiss, 70, The Weekend Australian, "Ex-priest's jail for child sex," Sep 14-15 02, and Sydney Morning Herald, "Party priest jailed for sex abuse of schoolboys," www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2002/09/13/ 1031608326919.htm Sept 14 02 • Bishops sued on child sex counts. Claim U.S. Catholic bishops held seminars to discredit claims and conceal priests' records. Church paid $5.2 million last year re Mons. Michael Harris The West Australian Sep 18 02 !!!: Cruising away from prosecution! "Police divert ship to arrest alleged paedophile priest": US priest Neville Rucker didn't surrender on 23 charges of abusing girls, but went up to Canada and cruised off until the ship was diverted and he was arrested The West Australian Oct 1 02 p 23 |
| RCs admit hush money ^ ^ Books Overview READINGS 3 v v RC Shanley denies |