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Child protection measures apply regardless of religious rules

The Irish justice minister has said that forthcoming child protection measures, including mandatory reporting will "apply regardless of any internal rules of any religious grouping".

Alan Shatter was responding to comments made by Cardinal Sean Brady who defended the seal of confession.

Cardinal Brady stressed it was a "sacred and treasured" rite.

Mr Shatter said past failures in the Catholic Church had led paedophiles to believe they could act with "impunity".

Last month the Cloyne report was published.

It found the diocese failed to report all complaints of abuse to police.

Past failures
As a result, a number of child protection measures were announced under the legislation currently being drawn up.

A priest could be convicted of a criminal offence if they were told of a sexual abuse case and failed to report it to the civil authorities.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mr Shatter said: "It is the failure in the past to make such reports that has led sexual predators into believing that they have impunity and facilitated paedophiles preying on children and destroying their lives."

Anyone who fails to declare information about the abuse of a child could face a prison term of five years.

The Irish Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that priests who are given admissions of child abuse during the sacrament of confession will not be exempt from new rules on mandatory reporting.

During his homily to worshippers at Knock shrine in County Mayo, on Sunday, the archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland said: "Freedom to participate in worship and to enjoy the long-established rites of the church is so fundamental that any intrusion upon it is a challenge to the very basis of a free society" he said.

Child protection
The inquiry into the Cloyne Diocese was set up by the Irish government in January 2009 following a report published the previous month.

It was conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) - a body set up by the Catholic Church to oversee child protection policies.

It found child protection practices in the diocese were "inadequate and in some respects dangerous".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14707515

Londonderry priest's jail fear over confessional seal law

A priest in Londonderry has said he would be prepared to go to jail rather than break the seal of confession.

Father Paddy O'Kane was responding to the Irish justice minister, Alan Shatter, who said that forthcoming child protection measures, will "apply regardless of any internal rules of any religious grouping".

A priest could be convicted of a criminal offence if they were told of a sexual abuse case and failed to report it to the civil authorities, under the new legislation.

Mr Shatter said past failures in the Catholic Church had led paedophiles to believe they could act with "impunity".

Father O'Kane, from Holy Family Church in Ballymagroarty, said he will not accept the rules.

He said he did not think the law will go through.

"If it does priests will be prepared to go to jail rather than break the seal," he said.

"It's at the very core of what a priest is. If a priest were to break the seal he will be automatically excommunicated.

"Priests cannot function if they're not allowed to keep the seal of confession."

A number of child protection measures were announced following the Cloyne report which was published last month. It found the diocese failed to report all complaints of abuse to police.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14709831

This is a new rule brought in after the Cloyne report found a consistent pattern of cover-ups by the catholic church in Ireland where reports of priests who confessed to child abuse were hidden from the authorities. The new laws make it an offence to not report cases of child abuse to the civil authorities, regardless of where the source was. The Vatican has already pretty much said that it is going to ignore this new rule and won't instruct its priests in Ireland to break the seal of confession - which lead to a diplomatic row with the irish government early last month where we withdrew our ambassador to the Holy See.

So, the question here is, which should take precedence, Canon law or the law of the land? Are you e.g. a catholic first and an irish citizen second, or the other way around? If your church tells you to do one thing and the law tells you that thing is illegal, which do you follow?  

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First, I doubt if confession is the ONLY way that cases of child abuse are suspected or confirmed.  If there is enough suspicion in any other possible way then it is rather clear cut.  Second, if the only suspicion of abuse is from a confession, I still believe there must be a report of possible abuse.  That report does not have to contain who it is believed is doing the harm, or even why it is suspected...just that there is a possibility.

Criminally, I would think it very difficult to prove beyond a doubt.  If there is really no other reason to believe abuse happened or is happening, how would the question of whether it was confessed arise?  If there is a reason or reasons other than the confession, I would still think it would be difficult to prove that the confession actually happened.

Civilly, it's a different standard.  And if the Church wants to continue to hand out it's million dollar losses due to abuse lawsuits...well, that's their choice.

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Originally Posted by Kieran Colfer:
Child protection measures apply regardless of religious rules

So, the question here is, which should take precedence, Canon law or the law of the land? Are you e.g. a catholic first and an irish citizen second, or the other way around? If your church tells you to do one thing and the law tells you that thing is illegal, which do you follow?  

"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's.  Render unto the Lord that which is the Lord's."

Imo, you obey the law as long as the law doesnt force you to worship the state or false gods or break one of God's commandments.