A priest, asked what he’d do if he heard a child abuser’s confession, stated he will follow the Vatican’s decision on the subject loyally, whatever that decision be.

This same priest commended Mr Piccoli for his candid stance, when he should have asked him questions. 

Given sexual abuse in Catholic institutions almost entirely dates back decades, while sexual abuse in NSW State schools is current, ongoing, and not uncommon, why during his tenure as NSW Minister for Education did Mr Piccoli not push for a Royal Commission into, not historical, but the current sexual abuse of children in state government schools? 

Only this week, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed 11 teachers in NSW government schools last year were dismissed or resigned following proven allegations of sexual misconduct with students.

It was also revealed teachers are being dismissed for being inefficient at their job at nearly three times the rate of previous years, and sexual misconduct remains one of the top reasons teachers are sacked.

Given Mr Piccoli was Minister for Education from April 2011 until he was dropped from cabinet in January 2017, does this “man of education” accept any responsibility for the current culture in education that’s resulted in 57 teachers dismissed in 2017, which is nearly double the 32 dismissals in 2008 before he began his tenure?

Was not Mr Piccoli’s attack on the Catholic Church’s “seal of confession” the common politician’s stunt of deflecting attention and blame? 

As for the priest who commended him, I can only muse that priest was off playing golf the day they taught the seal of confession.

Unlike Church laws, that can and should change with time, the seal of confession is part of Divine Law and therefore cannot be changed, not even by the Pope. 

So, any priest loyally waiting for a Vatican “green light” to break the seal of confession will be literally waiting until the end of time.

However, neither an angel from heaven nor even a Vatican decision is likely to convince many priests to break the seal of confession. 

I think most priests feel the same as me: I would honestly rather be tortured, even killed; in fact, I would rather spend the rest of my life in jail bawling my eyes out than reveal even one sin that I have heard in confession. Why?

I will explain next week.