Seal of confession in question

The Archbishop of York had urged that priests be allowed to report abuse to the police.

A working party report by the Church of England has been looking into abolishing the seal of the confessional, or at least parts of it.

The report suggests that “at present, the ‘seal of the confessional’ is upheld in the Church of England’s ecclesiastical law” and that The Working Party did not reach a consensus as to whether this should change.

The House of Bishops will consider the report next week and unless they decide differently, confessions of criminal acts will not automatically be reported to the police.

Phil Johnson, chair of the campaign group Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors (MACSAS) told Premier that the Church had “missed an opportunity” to take the moral high ground and any admissions of child abuse must be reported to the statutory authorities.

“Forgiveness isn’t free, it requires contrition and atonement,” he said.

“It would be easy for the Church to insist that absolution of the sins of child abuse must involve the matter being reported to the statutory authorities.

“The law requires that a priest must disclose admissions of terrorism or money laundering in confession but not the sexual abuse of children.

“What is required is a change in the law so that all institutions are obliged to disclose admissions or allegations of child abuse to the police or…