Archbishop Anthony Fisher rejects call for priests’ voluntary celibacy

A senior Catholic yesterday rejected a recommendation the church ask the Holy See to make celibacy voluntary for priests.

Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher. Picture: AAP

One of Australia’s most senior ­Catholics has rejected a royal commission recommendation the church ask the Holy See to make celibacy voluntary for priests.

The commission found celibacy was not a direct cause of child sexual abuse but a contributor when combined with other risk factors. It also called for churches to introduce “psychosexual assessment” and external psychological testing for religious ministry candidates.

“There is an elevated risk of child sexual abuse where the ‘propensity risk’ of compulsorily celibate male Catholic clergy and religious to sexually abuse children is combined with the ‘situ­ational risk’ afforded by privileged access to children in certain types of Catholic Church institutions,” the commission found.

The majority of survivors who were abused in religious institutions were abused in Catholic institutions, 61.8 per cent, followed by Anglican institutions, 14.7 per cent, and Salvation Army institutions, 7.3 per cent.

The commission said child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was not a recent phenomenon and was “only one aspect” of a ­centuries-long history of sexual dysfunction in the church.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher yesterday said the debate about celibacy would go on, however people responded. “We know very well that institutions which have celibate clergy and institutions that don’t have celibate ­clergy both face this problem,” he said. “It is an issue for everyone, celibate or not.”

The commission found celibacy probably significantly contributed to the sexual abuse of thousands of Australian children. The commission also recommended the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference consult with the Holy See to clarify whether a child’s confession of abuse was covered by the seal of confession and if a perpetrator confessed abuse, whether absolution could be withheld until they reported themselves to the police.

ACBC president Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart yesterday said he would not break the seal of confession, even if ­presented with information about child abuse.

“I would refuse them absolution until they went to authorities ... there’s no standing back in practical terms,” he said. “But the penalty for breaking the seal is excommunication — being thrown out of the church. It’s very serious.”

The commission heard evidence from 4029 survivors of child sexual abuse in religious institutions. Of the survivors, 39 per cent were abused in religious schools, 35.2 per cent were abused in ­residential institutions managed by religious organisations and 24.8 per cent were abused in places of worship or during religious ­activities.

The commission found similarities between the different ­religious organisations with leaders reluctant to remove alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse after suspicions of child ­sexual abuse were raised or allegations were received. It found many leaders were preoccupied with protecting the institution’s “good name” and reputation.

“Actions were often taken with the aim of avoiding, preventing or repairing public scandal, and ­concealing information that could tarnish the image of the institution and its personnel, or negatively ­affect its standing in the community,” the commission found.