The Society urges the British govt to respect the seal of confession
by George Conger, Anglican Ink:
The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda has asked the government to carve out an exemption for priests hearing a confession from proposed mandatory reporting of child abuse.
In a letter to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Asbuse (IICSA) dated 14 August 2023 the bishops of The Society asked that an “exception be added to make provision for the Seal of the sacrament of Confession, as practised in the Roman Catholic Church and parts of the Church of England”.
Under Anglican, and Catholic canon law, the seal of confession is inviolable. A priest may not repeat or disclose anything said to him by a penitent confessing their sins. The Society’s letter notes “the loss of the Seal would take away from survivors a safe space for disclosure and would be doing so against the incredibly remote contingency, and unproven concern, that perpetrators will abuse the Seal. This will not make us a safer Church. Rather it will take away from many victims and survivors a place in which a journey of healing can begin.”
Enforcing mandatory reporting upon clergy would be “incredibly difficult” they observed noting “The very essence of sacramental Confession is that it is a private, confidential encounter. It is far from clear how such an arrangement could be satisfactorily ‘policed’ by secular authorities.”
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