Australian Catholic Church Falls Short on Safeguards for Children, Study Finds
Joseph Palacios, a Catholic priest and sociology professor at the University of Southern California, called the report a "highly professional study" with "a very good grasp of the historical
and theological undercurrents of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church." He praised the study for its analysis of schools and residential institutions run by religious orders, which he said could "provide a safe space" for potential abusers.
Last month, a commission that has been investigating the Australian church’s response to sexual abuse recommended a series of legislative
and policy changes, one of which would require priests who are told about sexual abuse in confessions to report it to the authorities.
12, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia — A study that examines child sexual abuse worldwide in the Roman Catholic Church has found
that the Australian church has done less to safeguard children in its care than its counterparts in similar countries have.
As the global church’s sex abuse scandal has unfolded, attention has tended to focus on
offending priests in parishes, the report by Professor Cahill and Dr. Wilkinson said.
Professor Cahill and Dr. Wilkinson have been consultants for the Australian commission,
the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The celibacy requirement for priests is a "major precipitating risk factor for child sexual abuse," according to the report.
