Sir, – Chris Hayden (Opinion & Analysis, April 18th) gives two reasons why priests should be exempt from the requirement to report allegations of abuse made by children in confession.
The first is that if priests are mandated to report disclosures, children will not disclose. The second is that a young person may wish to make an initial disclosure of abuse in a way which will not lead to immediate consequences.
With regard to the first point, many other professionals – teachers, nurses, doctors, counsellors – could say the same thing: that is, if a child knows their disclosure will be reported they will not disclose. However, the position of a priest in confession is different from that of other professionals because the child or young person who discloses abuse to a priest in confession has chosen to do so anonymously.
The priest cannot see their face and may not recognise their voice or know them. Therefore a priest in confession is in a similar position to a person at the end of a confidential telephone helpline, who cannot report a disclosure if they do not know who the child is.
In the event that the child chooses to tell the priest who they are, the priest could offer to meet them at another time with the child’s parent or another adult of their choice. An anonymous setting may help a child to make an initial tentative disclosure which they are not yet ready to make in any other way. The manner in which the disclosure is dealt with is very important, as the recipient can calmly reassure a child that they have done the right thing in telling, and encourage them to disclose to someone who can do something about it.
The Government could therefore consider exempting priests in confession from the mandatory reporting legislation but require that all priests are trained in how best to respond to a child who discloses abuse in the confessional. Yours, etc,
FRANCES SHEARER,
Greenhill Road,
Wicklow,
Co Wicklow.