Representatives of the Anglican Church of Australia approved this on July 2 at the church's General Synod in Adelaide.

The ruling covers serious offences that would attract a jail term of five years or more, including domestic violence, child pornography and child sexual abuse.

Sydney barrister Garth Blake, who proposed the amendment, said it would ensure the church did not "act as a cloak" for offenders.

"I've been involved in dealing with child abuse in churches since 1997 and it seemed to me that protecting children and the vulnerable takes precedence over the confidentiality of confessions," Mr Blake said.

But the legislation will only become active once adopted by individual dioceses.

The current church law for Australian Anglicans is that the confession of a crime is to be kept confidential, unless the person confessing consents to disclosure.

But the new law would allow priests to report crime if the person confessing has not told police and the church's director of professional standards about it.

Adelaide Archbishop Jeffrey Driver said he understands the importance of the confessional, but he believes the new church law is a healthy step.

The Broken Rites advocacy group welcomed the Anglican move, but called for mandatory civil reporting laws.

Several years ago, then-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard slammed what she called the use of the confessional to avoid reporting abuse.

She said it was a "sin of omission" and all adults have a duty to protect children.

Cardinal George Pell, who was then-Archbishop of Sydney, said at the time that if information is received outside the confessional by Catholic priests, it could be passed on.

But the seal of the confessional is absolutely inviolable, Cardinal Pell emphasised.

He said priests should avoid hearing confessions of colleagues suspected of being paedophiles.

Writing on the issue in 2013, Rome canon lawyer Cathy Caridi noted that priests who repeat what they hear in confession in such a way as to identify the penitent are automatically excommunicated.

But confessors can encourage penitents to turn themselves in to authorities, or even make sacramental absolution contingent on it, she added.

Sources

• Herald Sun
• Anglican News
• Canon Law Made Easy
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon labeled the seal of confession an anachronism and told reporters: "This is a medieval law that needs to change in the 21st century. Church law, canon law, should not be above the law of the land."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, when asked whether the royal commission she has announced should examine confession, said: "It's not good enough for people to engage in sin of omission and not act when a child is at risk."

Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who is charged with setting up the commission, said the community found the idea of a priest not reporting child abuse if told about it in a confession to be "really abhorrent", but she cautioned against too much focus on the issue.

Ms Roxon said there were "much more blatant and open failures" to stop abuse that needed to be examined and not just in the Church, but other institutions as well. These included turning a blind eye to abuse, not acting on complaints by victims and not acting on "open secrets" that a certain individuals within organisations were child abusers.

Even retired Bishop Geoffrey Robinson of Sydney, a former president of the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand, said he would break the seal of confession for the "greatest good" of reporting an abuser.

On the other hand, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney declared that the seal of confession is "inviolable".

"The law of the land is also clear," he said. "Federal and state laws protect a member of the clergy from being forced to divulge details of a religious confession, just as it protects clients from being forced to disclose what they discuss with their lawyers.

"Religious freedom is protected by the Australian constitution; an essential part of the separation of church and state, which protects believers and faith communities from government dictating religious belief and practice."

Sources:

Australian Times

Sydney Morning Herald

ABC

Brisbane Times

Image: The Australian

Her decision followed new revelations about a Catholic religious order at a parliamentary inquiry in Victoria and the launching of a commission of inquiry into police handling of abuse by Catholic priests in the Hunter Valley.

Ms Gillard said the inquiry would not be confined to the Catholic Church, but extend to all religious organisations and to children in state care, and into other institutions including schools.

She said she had spoken to Cardinal George Pell of Sydney before making her announcement, and he had "indicated that he's taking a very co-operative attitude".

Earlier the cardinal had said he accepted that children were abused by priests, and that this was then covered up by other clergy, but these crimes were largely historic and not part of a systemic failing within the Church.

"It wasn't just the Catholic Church that hoped [an abusive priest] would amend their conduct and give them a home somewhere else," he said.

"Back in those days, they were entitled to think of paedophilia as simply a sin that you would repent of. They didn't realise that in the worst cases it was an addiction, a raging addiction."

Calls for a royal commission had followed testimony to the Victorian inquiry that a paedophile ring within the St John of God order subjected orphans, state wards and intellectually disabled boys to sexual and physical abuse. A researcher for the victims' group Broken Rites alleged that two boys may have died as a result of severe beatings.

In a written statement, the order said it became aware there had been sexual abuse in its Victorian facilities in 1997. It said the order investigated and reported the abuse to police and ultimately there was a multi-million-dollar mediated settlement.

Following a request from the inquiry committee, the Catholic Church in Victoria has agreed to release internal files on child sexual abuse by clergy.

Earlier, New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell announced a commission of inquiry into the way police handled allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the Hunter Valley, including whether the Church interfered in police investigations.

Sources:

The Australian

News.com.au

Sydney Morning Herald

ABC

The Australian

The Australian

Image: The Australian

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi opened the Sydney branch in Liverpool recently.

He said that promoting awareness of gender-based violence is important, as is offering a place of safety for victims.

He added that the Samoa Victim Support is strongly supported by the government and went on to say that it "is clearly a very important part in our national response. It is a response that includes government, non government and civil society organizations to address this silent menace that continues to plague our communities in Samoa".

At the recent Pacific Islands Forum meeting in the Cook Islands, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said Pacific leaders were urged to face up to the issues of victim support and domestic violence. A special fund of AUS$320 million to support gender equality efforts in the Pacific had been announced by Australian PM Julia Gillard at the Forum.

"It included in the stated objectives the improved safety of women through the prevention of violence and access to justice," Prime Minister Tuilaepa said.

He urged the Samoan community in Australia to use the Samoa Victim Support Group's services to the full.

"In Samoa the message and awareness of the rights of women and children who find themselves in violent and abusive relationships is delivered with the support of village councils and the churches working through these established organizations. It certainly has the full backing of government", he said.

Sources

• Savali
• Image: Samoan Woman (S.U.G.A.)

They were pleasantly surprised when our group joined them. Mostly young, they were on their way to Gallipoli, with many New Zealanders.

Officials estimated about 7000 attended the combined Dawn Service at Anzac Cove.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave two excellent speeches. At Lone Pine she rose to the occasion splendidly and captured the significance of the Anzacs for our history and our evolving self-understanding.

No Australian at Gallipoli was a conscript; all were free men from a free country.

She explained that the boys of federation became the men of Gallipoli, starting a new story for a new nation.

Despite their defeat, we still take pride in their bravery (seven Victoria Crosses were won at Lone Pine) as we struggle to come to grips with the misery and slaughter.

No country in World War I had a higher casualty rate than Australia except New Zealand.

Most Australians know how 75,000 British Empire and French troops invaded Turkey on April 25, 1915, secured and held two bridgeheads against ferocious Turkish resistance, suffered from heat and then cold, from disease and discomfort, from disappointment at the lack of progress, from the stench of the dying and the nuisance of fat, green "corpse flies" before they withdrew eight months later.

Some other facts are not so well known.

For more than 2000 years, Turkey has been a principal gateway for invading armies between Europe and Asia.

Despite this, their respect for the Allied war graves, their welcome and participation in our memorial services are remarkable gestures.

Some 8700 Australians died on Gallipoli, but 22,000 British soldiers were also killed and there were 250,000 Turkish casualties; 2721 New Zealanders died from a population of 1 million.

Like most Australians, Catholics opposed conscription but supported the Allied war aims.

Many Catholics fought and died and common suffering drew the Protestant and Catholic communities closer.

Ancient wrongs and mutual antagonisms were seen in a new light and Christian forgiveness encouraged greater tolerance.

Only a nation with deep Christian roots and belief in redemptive sacrifice could set this Anzac failure at the heart of its legends.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Image: Zimbio

Cardinal George Pell is Catholic Archbishop of Sydney

The group arrived by yacht in Darwin late last week while on their way to claim asylum in New Zealand.

They were warned that sailing across the Tasman Sea would be extremely dangerous.

Mr Bowen says he's pleased the group has decided to seek asylum in Australia.

"I obviously think that's a good outcome, as it means they won't be yet again taking another further dangerous boat journey, we'll now process them in the normal way, they'll be processed for their asylum claim, and security checks will begin," he said.

The Chinese asylum seekers had originally declared their intention of heading to New Zealand on their yacht which is at present in Darwin.

On Wednesday the The Refugee Council of New Zealand called for Australian authorities to extend the visas of the Chinese asylum-seekers. Spokesman Gary Poole said the New Zealand Government has been put in a difficult situation by the Australian Government.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said officials cannot stop the group from setting sail to New Zealand after their temporary visas expire on Saturday because their boat is seaworthy and they have not committed any crime.

However, Poole claims there is something she can do.

"One of the things she does have the power to do is grant them extended visas so it can be negotiated between our Government officials and the Australian government officials to reach a solution that is going to provide for their safety," he told TV One's Breakfast on Wednesday.

"It would be completely irresponsible of Julia Gillard to let these women and children particularly to set sail."

Source

• TVNZ
• Radio Australia
• Image: SBS