CHURCH leaders will face criminal charges if they deliberately fail to report sexual offences including child molestation in the church, the Justice Department warned on Saturday.
The caution followed media reports that the Catholic Church in South Africa had resolved not to report such offenders from within its own ranks but rather deal with them internally through its rehabilitation programmes.
Catholic Bishop’s Conference president Cardinal Wilfrid Napier told reporters in Pretoria that although the church condemned the sexual abuse of children by priests or any other church personnel, it had procedures in place to deal with these cases and would not refer them to police.
Napier said any information received by a priest in confessions could not and would not be revealed.
The announcement was reported by SABC radio news on Friday and the Saturday Star newspaper.
Justice representative Paul Setsetse said on Saturday if the statement ”was accurate and to be believed”, then the decision would be conflicting with the Domestic Violence Act which requires all sectors of civil society, including the church, to report an
act of that nature.
”I’m afraid if indeed the police conduct an investigation into a committed crime against a child, and it comes to light that certain church ministers knew about it and failed to report it, charges of harbouring a criminal will be pressed against those individuals,” he said.
Setsetse said it would be an ”unfortunate” stance by the Catholic leaders as they, just like teachers, doctors and social workers, have an important role to play in helping law enforcement agencies to protect women and children against crime.
”Children are comfortable with priests as they are with teachers, doctors etc whom they always regard as approachable to confide to about their ordeal. But this (decision) will be flying on the face of these children’s trust on them as they will feel left in the cold.”
Asked if the Justice Ministry would discuss the issue with the Catholic leaders, Setsetse said there was no need to talk about something clearly stipulated in the law.
”It can never be correct that a certain organisation will make a decision on something that is totally against the law,” he said.
The church’s decision comes at a time when the Catholic Church is embroiled in a massive Boston, United States investigation of its several priests charged with having molested children, including young boys, from as far back as 1984.
The Catholic leaders stand accused of having failed to act on reports brought to them by parents of alleged victims.
The Catholic Church in South Africa could not be reached for comment on Saturday. – Sapa