SA BEST will aim to close a loophole in legislation which allows priests who hear confessions of child abuse to avoid reporting the matter to police.
MLC Connie Bonaros introduced the Statutes Amendment (Mandatory Reporting) Bill 2018, which seeks to toughen legislation passed last year, set to come into effect next month as part of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.
Under the new laws, South Australia will become the first state in Australia to remove the exemption from mandatory reporting for priests hearing confession – priests who hear confessions about child abuse will be legally obligated to report the matter to police.
However the act includes an “escape clause” provision wherein the government of the day can make changes to the legislation without approval from parliament to remove the mandatory reporting requirement for priests.
Ms Bonaros’ bill will close the loophole and make it a criminal offence punishable by a maximum five years imprisonment for a priest who fails to report certain child sexual offences, including murder, rape, use of children in commercial sexual services, incest and child exploitation material and related offences.
“It beggars belief that the exemption was part of the original legislation in the first place, so SA BEST has introduced a bill to close the loophole as soon as possible so priests cannot be exempted now or in the future,” she said.
“As a community, we simply and morally cannot allow a possible exception for priests to avoid the obligation to report suspicions of child abuse made at confession.”
As a case for tightening the loophole, Ms Bonaros cited the insidious case of Father Michael McArdle.
McArdle confessed 1500 times to molesting children to 30 different priests over a 25-year period.
He was jailed for six years in 2004 after pleading guilty to indecently dealing with two girls and 14 boys, aged eight to 13, between January 1965 and June 1987.
“McArdle’s reign of terror on so many young innocent victims over such a protracted period of time is an outrage of the most horrific kind – the likes of which this country has rarely seen,” Ms Bonaros said.
“His sickness is a prime example for lifting the veil of secrecy of the confessional.
“Too many abusers, for far too long, have escaped punishment due to their ability to hide behind the sanctity of the confessional.
“The legislation I have introduced will ensure that happens no matter who is in government and however powerful the groups are that lobby them.”
