Seal of Confession and Schools

I was teaching for some years at Cork Life Centre, which runs full school curriculum for students who have had difficulties of various kinds, not always of their fault or under their control. We worked closely with TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency. This included seminars for us teachers on the precise legal situation vis-a-vis children and school. We are under a legal obligation to report an account of abuse, or a reasonable suspicion of abuse, to a named ‘Designated Person’ in the school who would then take appropriate action.

We were warned to be very careful about listening to personal stories from pupils, and we are recommended to warn the pupils that we would have to report anything which amounted to abuse. 

The same is now true of clinical psychologists and Counselling Services.

The issue of priests and the Confessional was fully discussed. The reality is that children are often all too aware of what would happen if certain things became known to The Law. Some parents (not just dads) would end up in jail. To some children, this amounts to breaking up the family, and they don’t want that to happen. Therefore they keep silent. Not all children tell the truth either, sometimes to protect family or friends; in the worst case, the reality is that false accusations can be made in the spirit of revenge, or desire for attention; the teacher could open up a whole can of worms. 

Often, the priest in confession is the only person to whom a child can unload without setting off a train of incalculable consequences. And a good priest can often help in discreet ways without breaking the Seal of Confession.

'The Law is a blunt instrument’ and these matters may be far more nuanced and complex than might meet the eye. Governments anxious to gain control or fearful of the (imagined) power of the Catholic Church, not to mention atheists and others who do not attempt to see the real dilemmas a priest can find himself in, have always attacked the Seal of Confession. Imho it is a sign of the maturity of the Catholic Church that she does not give in and take the easy way out.