The Catholic Church in Australia should ask the Vatican for permission to introduce “voluntary celibacy” for clergy, according to a report.
The recommendation is one of many included in the final report delivered by the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. Others include:
– Mandatory reporting laws.
– No exemptions for religious confession.
– Laws that make it a criminal offence to fail to protect a child from risk of abuse.
– A national strategy to prevent child abuse.
– Candidates for religious ministry should undergo external psychological testing, including psycho-sexual assessment.
– A national religious register.
– Permanent removal of any minister convicted of a child sexual abuse offence.
After releasing the final report, the commission’s chief Philip Reed said:
“We have now completed our work. It’s up to governments and institutions to take the next steps and implement the royal commission’s recommendations.”
Breaking: The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made 189 new recommendations in its final report, including a national strategy to prevent child abuse https://t.co/nuKvh9uhDk
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) December 15, 2017
