“Whatever justification Church authorities present to support this stance, the continued suggestion that the Catholic Church is above the secular law of the society in which it operates is unfortunate to say the least,” said Blue Knot Foundation head of research Dr Pam Stavropoulos in a statement.

“Survivors of the widespread clergy abuse which is substantiated unequivocally by the recent royal commission, Catholic parishioners, and society at large will draw their own conclusions on this.”

In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Blue Knot Foundation spokesperson Tarja Malone said it is “absolutely fundamental” that adults take responsibility to protect children from harm.

“Complex childhood trauma impacts survivors’ lives on a significant and detrimental way with flow-on impacts on families, communities and societies on the whole. Protecting children from harm should be a priority of all adults and in particular any adults who have a position of power in the community,” she explained.

“Clergy need to adapt to modern child protection ideologies and place the care and protection of children at the forefront of their connection with the community.”

When asked if the Church’s attitude undermines the rule of law, she said adults who have responsibilities in caring for children are required by law to report offences.

“A refusal to adapt to current community values around child protection will undoubtedly mean that survivors and their families cannot be assured that religious organisations place the safety and care of children at the forefront of their operations and ethics.”

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The comments come in response to reports that the Catholic Church is set to defy legislation aimed at “forcing priests to break the seal of confession to report child abuse”.

Earlier this year, a “legal roadblock” was removed in NSW, which had prevented thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse from suing churches and other institutions.

At the time, NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said: “A child abuse survivor will [now] be able to sue an unincorporated organisation, which can nominate a proper defendant with sufficient assets to meet the claim. If it fails to do so, the court can appoint associated trustees to be sued who can access trust property to pay the compensation.”

“This means all survivors of institutional child abuse in NSW will now have the same access to compensation through civil litigation, no matter what kind of organisation is responsible,” he said.