Catholic Online Forum

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

I suppose because of the feverish Church/State separation culture in the US, I was surprised that Australian courts actually ordered donations to Christian charities in lieu of more neutral penalties such as community service. Since the practice was once allowed wouldn't it be reasonable now to allow such contributions as an optional penalty as compared to an ordered penalty at the choice of the convicted?

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BobA

I too was surprised that this facility was available (or had been so technically up until 20 odd years ago) to the courts. What a great little remedy available to judges when dispensing justice! What a shame it has been ruled no longer legally possible. It certainly hasn't been part of the New Zealand justice framework, more's the pity!

James, some questions:

Was this confined to Victoria or was a commonwealth wide practice?
Was the Melbourne CC simply looking to get its (grubby little?) hands on the money that was being diverted to charities in this way and not into their coffers ..... or is there an anti-Christian agenda behind it?
Is there any likelihood of a groundswell from the social services / charitable sector pushing for the law to amended to reinstate this as a legal avenue?

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Simon Archer
".....As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

And we are part of "... a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Lumen Gentium article 4)

Bob & Simon,

Penalties such as CSOs (Community Service Orders) are often served doing work for Christian charities (indeed, most usually Catholic - especially the SVdP). This is nation-wide.

The "Court poor-box" system was unique to the state of Victoria.

One can only speculate on the motives of the Melburne City Council in bringing this matter before the Supreme Court of Victoria.

As the judged speculated, this is clearly an unintended consequence of the 1990s amendments. It should therefore easily be fixed simply by amending the sentencing laws. A few quiet phone calls to a handful of reliable, Catholic parliamentarians should settle matters quickly.

It's a great system. We should adopt it here in NSW.

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)