Bunbury’s Bishop Gerard Holohan added his voice to those calling for a bi-partisan rejection of the introduction of proposed legislation.
The Pastoral Letter was published on 6 December, 2019
Can the Seal of Confession be Violated?
We Catholics are second to no one in our determination to do everything possible to protect children and teenagers from the horrendous crime of sexual abuse. While statistics given by he Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse show that a small percentage of priests, religious and laity committed this crime, and that there were Bishops and heads of religious congregations who failed in their duty to protect the young when they knew of such abuse, these criminals in no way reflected the values and attitudes of Catholics generally.
Last Friday (November 29th), the Council of Australia Governments announced legislation to force priests to report any instance of child sexual abuse they learn about in their ministry. This will include removing the current legal protection of the so-called ‘Seal of Confession’, which really is the Seal of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Anyone with an understanding of the ministry of priests, depending upon priests’ relationships with those entrusted to their pastoral care, would know that such legislation is more likely to result in continuing abuse, not protect against it. In this brief letter, I will offer two examples.
Victims of abuse
Even people with tenuous connections with the Church tend to see Catholic priests as the ultimate safeguards of confidentiality, both within and outside the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. In my long experience as a priest who has ministered in Australia and the United States, young victims of sexual abuse have tended to feel safe in revealing past or present sexual abuse within or outside their families to a priest in the strictest confidence. They know that the priest will be committed to supporting them in every way as they try to escape abuse situations.
Obviously, the priest will strive to encourage them to report the crimes against them to their parents (unless one is the abuser) and to the police. However, most often these are not easy options for the young person. They face questions such as ‘Will I be believed?’ ‘How will revealing that I am being abused affect our family relationships?’ ‘How can I avoid hurting my grand mother?’ ‘How will my family see me in future?’
Young people are frightened, hurt and confused. They have questions about themselves, trust, love and others. There can be anger against parents who unknowingly leave them in abusive situations. Victims need time to build up confidence and to process their thinking.
The effect of the proposed legislation is that the young will no longer feel able to seek the confidential support of priests. If they did, and the priest immediately reported their abuse to the police, the young would find themselves being interviewed by police seeking evidence. The first the family would learn of their abuse would be when the alleged perpetrator was interviewed, and possibly arrested.
The promised legislation is likely to keep many abuse victims silent, and their abuse will continue. Abusers are likely to feel safer as the young are deterred from reporting their abuse to anyone who can help them.
If an abuser revealed his or her abuse
Neither I, nor any priest I know, nor well known priests who have written about this issue such as Fr Frank Brennan, have the experience of a sex abuser revealing this within or outside the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Part of the psychology of an abuser is that they do not believe they are doing wrong – which is impossible for the rest of us to comprehend.
However, taking the purely theoretical situation of an abuser confessing this in the Sacrament, the legislation will require in practice that the priest then has to ask: ‘Can you please give me your name and address as I have to report you to the police.’ Does anyone really believe that the abuser would wait around to cooperate? The proposed legislation, therefore, is quite impractical. Normally a priest does not know the name of the person going to the Sacrament – and people prefer to confess serious sins anonymously.
Is it really about the protection of children?
It seems illogical to me to claim that the proposed legislation is for the protection of children when it does not apply to all professions. If a lawyer learns of a paedophile ring from a client, for example, they are bound to silence by the lawyer-client relationship. If a journalist learns of such a ring, they can protect their sources.
The proposed legislation will apply to priests, but not lawyers or journalists. The obvious question is ‘why not everyone’?
The Seal of Confession
Sacraments were instituted by the Lord. They are encounters between believers and Christ as the believers seek his power for their daily lives.
Through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, Christ offers to the truly repentant a renewed relationship with himself, forgiveness of sins and deep inner peace. How different would society be if more people had the inner peace Christ offers through this Sacrament – the One at whose birth the angels promised ‘Peace on earth to all who enjoy God’s favour’. To enjoy God’s favour, all that is needed is an acceptance in the ways Jesus taught. Relationships today – marriages, families, friendships – are fragmenting due to tensions, guilt and other reasons for lack of inner peace.
In the Sacrament, the repentant believer confesses to Christ, personal sins as a result of breaking God’s laws. The priest is simply Christ’s instrument. The Seal flows from the nature of the Sacrament. No priest can break it without having to answer for this violation of the Sacrament when facing the Lord after he dies. This is a most grave matter of conscience.
The inability of a priest to break the Seal of Confession in no way reflects any disrespect for Parliament. Rather, it reflects obedience to God whose authority is greater than that of any human institution whose members depend upon God for their very next breath.
The Church has no authority to remove the Seal
The Royal Commission suggested that the Australian Bishops ask the Pope to change Church laws which protect the Seal itself. Like all Church law, these laws relate to the practical protection of the Seal.
But neither the Pope nor the Australian Bishops can remove the obligation of priests never to reveal sins confessed in the celebrations of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation under any circumstances. Over the past two thousand years, priests have suffered in many ways – including imprisonment and death – rather than break the Seal.
Conclusion
The proposed legislation which seeks to force priests to report child abuse they may hear about will rob young victims of opportunities to seek help confidentially to priests. It will not catch abusers by removing the legal protection of the Seal of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. And one has to wonder if it really is about the protection of the young because it does not apply to all.
Let us all continue to do everything in our power to protect the young from the horrendous crime of sexual abuse.
In a hugely controversial move, the Council of Australia Governments announced on 29 November last year the introduction of legislation to force priests to report any instance of child sexual abuse learned of during the course of their ministry: including removing the current legal protection of the Seal of Confession – the Seal of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Coinciding with this announcement, the McGowan Government introduced the Children and Community Services Amendment Bill (2019) to the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.
Similarly, the purpose of this Bill is to amend the Children and Community Services Act (2004) to introduce mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse for ministers of religion.
On Wednesday, 13 May 2020 the McGowan Government introduced the Bill for debate.