‘No exceptions’: U.K. to force priests to report abuse heard in confession

Catholic priests in Britain will be required to report child sexual abuse — even if it’s disclosed in confession — under a government plan that church leaders say violates sacred doctrine.

In a Tuesday letter obtained by the Pillar news site, the U.K.’s governmental Home Office confirmed there will be “no exceptions on the basis of where disclosures are received, including confessionals.”

The missive added, “The duty will apply to all individuals undertaking relevant activity with children, including within religious and faith-based settings.”

Jess Phillips, a minister in the Home Office’s Safeguarding department, reiterated the point in a separate letter to the National Secular Society, as reported by the Catholic Herald: “There will be no exceptions. This includes disclosures made during confessionals.”

The mandate — part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which has reached the report stage in Parliament’s House of Commons — doesn’t impose criminal penalties, but could see priests banned from ministry via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Canon law forbids breaking the seal of confession under any circumstance, stating: “It is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster and the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has called the seal “nonnegotiable,” telling the government’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that it’s central to Catholic priesthood.

Catholic academic David Paton told the Pillar the policy may backfire: “There is no evidence that mandatory reporting by priests from confession would do anything to reduce child abuse.”

He added, “If anything, it might make things worse by deterring someone who is willing to address their behavior from going to confession.”

A 2019 Vatican statement said any attempt to breach the seal would be “an unacceptable offense against … religious freedom.”

A government memo concedes the law could interfere with religious liberty, but claims the policy is justified and proportionate to the threat of abuse. The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said it’s engaging with officials to address concerns.

Washington state recently passed a similar law, prompting a Justice Department investigation into potential First Amendment violations.

The U.K. Home Office, which is backing the bill, said it will continue discussions with faith leaders, but made clear: Confessional privilege will not be protected.