Ireland pushes priests to report confessed sex abuse

  • Thread starter Thread starter Angel_Bradford
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I know you are stuck with the title of the linked article but the statement is not true.

If this law were to pass, priests would be no more able to break the seal of Confession than they are today. The only thing it would be “pushing” priests to do would be to disobey an unjust law.
 
Indeed -however if it became law -how would a priest know he is not speaking to an undercover policeman for a setup? :eek:
 
Nimzovik said:
Indeed -however if it became law -how would a priest know he is not speaking to an undercover policeman for a setup? :eek:
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Then there would be a lot of priests going to jail. The priest shortage problem would get worse, but there wouldn’t be a problem with the confessional seal being broken.
 
Well, as has been mentioned in the other four or five threads on this same story, the problem is easily addressed by having Confession only behind the screen, except in an emergency such as danger of death. This is already an option that priests can use and, if I were in Ireland, I would want to see it become the only option.

You can’t be jailed for not reporting an anonymous person.
 
Corki said:
Well, as has been mentioned in the other four or five threads on this same story, the problem is easily addressed by having Confession only behind the screen, except in an emergency such as danger of death. This is already an option that priests can use and, if I were in Ireland, I would want to see it become the only option.

You can’t be jailed for not reporting an anonymous person.
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I agree. I think there will be a push to allowing only confession behind screens anyway. I know several priests (acquaintances, not close friends) that will only do confession behind the screen for their own safety.
 
Under such a law, priests will be jailed for their courage and faith. It is hardly the first time Christians have faced such a challenge.
 
What a dumb law! It not expects priests to break the seal of confession (good luck with that!) but will also discourge people from seeking absolution from Reconcilliation, loose-loose for all involved.
 
Dumb law or not. It is readily apparant that those lobby groups that oppose Catholics would surely love to get it passed. I see no reason why the privacy screen could not be outlawed as well by the same said groups. Ultimately this all boils down to just another attack on the faith.
 
Nimzovik said:
Dumb law or not. It is readily apparant that those lobby groups that oppose Catholics would surely love to get it passed. I see no reason why the privacy screen could not be outlawed as well by the same said groups. Ultimately this all boils down to just another attack on the faith.
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Let them try. The canonical requirement is that the penitent has the right to an anonymous confession. If they outlaw the screen, priests can just hear confessions in the dark or with a blindfold on, or back-to-back. The latter is what they do at my kids’ school when they have multiple priests since they only have one screened confessional kneeler.
 
Corki said:
Let them try. The canonical requirement is that the penitent has the right to an anonymous confession.
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That is a good point. The law would only apply when the priest new who commited the offense. Perhaps a return to all anonymous confessions would solve the legal quandry, should it arise.
 
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