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	The Catholic Seal of Confession under Siege in Ireland By Charles Lewis National Post July 23, 2011 http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/07/23/the-catholic-seal-of-confession-under-siege-in-ireland/ In the Roman Catholic confessional, people can reveal their foulest crimes, most shameful sins and heinous future intents – and know their secrets will never be disclosed. The sanctity of confession is so pervasive in popular culture – everything from the movie Moonstruck to the TV series Seinfeld – it can be easy to forget just how profound confession is meant to be. For Catholics, it is a sacrament, an act in which God is not simply represented symbolically but actually takes part in bestowing grace and forgiveness on penitents. Unlike in almost any other religion, a priest who reveals what was said in confession – even if it saves someone from harm’s way – would almost certainly face swift excommunication. But in Ireland a major and historic battle has erupted as the government seeks to rip aside the protection of the confessional. This unprecedented move is a result of anger and frustration over the Church’s apparent inability to act decisively on priests who sexually abuse children. In the past few days, the Irish government introduced a proposal that would make priests legally bound to break the seal of confession when child abuse is revealed. Failure to do so could result in up to five years in prison. “The law of the land should not be stopped by a crozier or by a collar,” Enda Kenny, the Prime Minister, told the Irish Times. The decision follows the Cloyne Report, which reveals the Church was not following its own guidelines on abuse as late as 2009 and alleges intervention by the Vatican to try to dampen the scandal. “[For] the first time in Ireland, a report into child sexual abuse exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago,” he said. “The Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism . the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day. The rape and torture of children were downplayed or ‘managed’ to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and ‘reputation.’ “ To non-Catholics, and even many Catholics, the idea of hiding knowledge that could prevent a future attack on a child is revolting. “When I was a teenaged girl in the 1970s I went to confession and told about being abused by a priest,” said Barbara Blaine, president of the U.S. group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “It would have been appropriate for the priest to call the police or my parents instead of telling me Jesus would forgive me.” Ireland is proposing a radical solution, she said, but we are “living in a moment in which radical steps are required.” Still, the Church in Ireland has already said it would not go along with such a law, claiming the seal of the confessional is “above and beyond everything else” and can never be broken. It is hard to imagine a dedicated priest ever revealing its secrets, despite the threat of imprisonment. Yet the Catholic Church is one of the few that absolutely bars the temporal world from things said in confidence. In many legal jurisdictions lawyers will report threats of crimes they hear from clients – and nor can they ignore a confession to crimes. Even doctor-patient privilege can vary. “I’m 75 years old and have been thinking about all matters Catholic for 50 years and I’ve never heard of a case of a priest abusing the seal of confession,” said Lawrence Cunningham, author and professor emeritus of theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “This is a sacrament, it’s embedded in the structure of the sacraments. This is not intended to be therapy.” The notion of confession, now formally called the Sacrament of Reconciliation, has evolved over the past 1,500 years, scholars say. It is not intended for the penitent to feel good or reach psychological peace – though those things may occur. Instead, it is considered a sacrament, like baptism or Communion, in which there is a divine character that trumps any man-made law. “There’s an added character for the Catholic Church in respect to the priest-penitent relationship,” said Father Robert Gahl, associate professor of ethics at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. “There is a sacred role in that the priest is seen representing God’s authority. “Confession has a whole other level of sacred character. There is an intimacy in the sense that the person who seeks counsel from the priest in confession understands they are speaking to God and the priest is an intermediary. When absolution for sin is given, it is really God who is acting, not the priest.” Though the psychological impact on a penitent is considered secondary, Fr. Gahl said scientific research into brain function has shown an honest confession can induce neural chemical changes that lead to a sense of physical relief. When someone has done something wrong, emotions can begin to run amok – but in confession those emotions are stared down and brought under control, he said . While the Irish proposal is considered serious, given it comes from the highest level of government, it may never be able to accomplish what it intends. Since a priest must remain silent about anything he has heard, he could never admit to accusations he had been told about a crime. It also raises the question of why stop at revealing just crimes of child abuse. What about murder, rape and robbery – or even infidelity? By making the confessional less than absolute, Fr. Gahl said, it would have the effect of keeping away abusers who might, with a priest’s guidance, eventually turn themselves in to the authorities. A confession may lead to the penitent reaching out to the priest later to talk about getting help or even going to the authorities. As well, a priest can withhold absolution if there is no indication the person confessing has no intention of correcting his or her ways. Breaking the seal could also discourage victims from seeking the confessional – those who may not yet be ready to go to legal authorities – for fear that what they say in private could end up in evidence, Fr. Gahl said. “I understand how it makes sense in terms of the politics of it all,” said Father Edward Foley, a professor of liturgy and music at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. “There are lots of things that make sense politically but are not appropriate religiously.” He points to many priests’ familiarity with those in their confessionals by bringing up a comic scene in the movie Moonstruck, in which Cher plays a woman in love with her soon-to-be brother-in-law: Loretta Castorini: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last confession. Priest: What sins have you to confess? Loretta: Twice I took the name of the Lord in vain, once I slept with the brother of my fiancee, and once I bounced a cheque at the liquor store, but that was really an accident. Priest: Then it’s not a sin. But … What was that second thing you said, Loretta? Said Fr. Foley: “What happens when a priest decides to intervene when someone has cheated on their husband or an exam? You either have to have no line or you have to have a complete line.” But Ms. Blaine says all this discussion may be theoretical because of the nature of child abusers. “I don’t think this new law would do any good because most these predators live in denial,” she said. “They don’t believe they’ve done anything wrong. Predators live in a world where they think the children want them to do this.. So I don’t think they’re going to bring this to confession. “But if they do, obviously the priest has to put the protection of children above all else and report it. That’s the only way to stop it.” Contact: clewis@nationalpost.com A STAPLE IN POP CULTURE Here are several examples, dramatic and comedic, in which the confessional plays a major role in movies and television: I Confess In this Alfred Hitchcock film a priest refuses to give in to police investigators’ questions of suspicion, because of the seal of confession, and thus becomes the prime suspect in a murder. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Detective Elliot Stabler investigates the murder of a transvestite in a Catholic church. As the probe continues, detectives find evidence of a sexual abuse ring by priests. Stabler has to convince a young priest to break the sanctity of confession to bring the ring down. When the priest does, he is told it is the end of his career. A Bronx Tale Colagero: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been one month since my last confession and these are my sins: I missed mass on Sunday twice, I lied about witnessing a murder once, and I ate meat on Friday once. Priest: Wait a minute, can you back up a little bit and say that again? Colagero: I ate meat on Friday once? Priest: No, not that one, back up a little more. Colagero: I lied about witnessing a murder. Priest: Yeah, that’s the one. Do you realize what you said? Colagero: It was only once, Father.. Priest: Now, I want you to tell me what happened. Colagero: No, Father, I’m not telling nobody nothing. Priest: Don’t be afraid. Nobody’s more powerful than God. Colagero: I don’t know about that, Father. Your guy’s bigger than my guy up there, but my guy’s bigger down here. Priest: Ya got a point. Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld goes to a confessional to complain about his dentist, Tim Watley. Seinfeld: I should tell you I’m Jewish. Priest: That’s not sin. Seinfeld: I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Watley. He’s converted to Judaism for the jokes. Priest: And this concerns you as a Jewish person? Seinfeld: No. It offends me as a comedian. National Post clewis@nationalpost.com
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