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THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED Children First Bill will make it mandatory for numerous professionals to report suspected child abuse: gardaí, teachers, clergy, medical practitioners, social workers, and child protection officers. The Bill was originally recommended in 1999 and its intended goals are outlined in the Ryan Commission Implementation Plan 2009.
“The Children First national guidelines emphasise that the needs of children and families must be at the centre of child care and child protection activity, and that a partnership approach must inform the delivery of services. They also highlight the importance of consistency between policies and procedures across statutory and voluntary organisations. The key message of Children First is that responsibility for protecting children must be shared by all adults. Anyone who works with, has responsibility for or comes into contact with children should be aware of the signs of abuse, be alert to the possibility of abuse and be familiar with the basic procedures to report their concerns.”
The Bill, however, has propelled the Government on a collision course with the Catholic Church, which has refused to obey the law if it requires priests to break the seal of confession. According to canon law “the sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.”
What has been learned?
Seemingly the Church has not learned a thing from the abuse scandal. It still believes canon law supersedes both civil law and the protection of children. Much of the condemnation directed towards the Church is not due to the sexual abuse of children carried out by individual priests but the continued prioritisation of the Catholic Church by the Catholic Church over and above all other considerations, even children. The fact the Church refuses to break the seal of confession to aid abused children illustrates that this immoral precedence is still extant.
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Defenders of the inviolability of the seal of confession, such as Fr Chris Hayden, argue that the promise of confidentiality will permit priests to “be in a position of encouraging people to take a step towards healing, or to contact the authorities.” The seal of confession will empower survivors of abuse to make initial steps that might eventually lead to full disclosure, he says. He worries that “mandatory reporting may compromise the possibility of small, initial steps.”
However, this argument is predicated on an unproven assumption. There is no evidence, empirical or even anecdotal, that demonstrates that the seal of confession has indeed encouraged initial first steps in survivors or perpetrators of abuse. In fact, it could easily be argued that the act of confession may have the adverse effect. Abusers may get a sense of absolution by making amends with a higher power and therefore deem it unnecessary to report their crimes and apologise to their victims. If the Church wants their canon law to trump civil law then it must prove that it is more beneficial to children for it do so. In this instance it simply cannot.
A culture of secrecy and deference
Conversely it could be argued that it has not been proven that breaking the seal of confession will protect children. However, we will never know as long as it remains unbroken. What we do know, and we learned it at great cost, is that a culture of secrecy and deference to canon law instead of civil law within the Catholic Church is detrimental to the well-being of children. The refusal to break the seal of confession to protect children is simply an extension of that culture.
There are very few, if any, moral reasons not to report child abuse, the least of which is the internal rules of any one religion. The Catholic Church may believe that the seal of confession is sacrosanct; however, the most sacred aspect in any civilised society is the protection of children.
Peter Ferguson is a sceptic and a writer, he is a contributing author in the upcoming book 13 Reasons to Doubt, and he blogs at SkepticInk.com. Twitter @humanisticus
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@common sense: His opinion and yours managed to coincidentally align on one single anti-immigration topic and now you think he’s a great fella. That anti-elite and anti-establishment stance you had didn’t last long, did it?
@common sense: We badly need more politicians of the calibre of Michael McDowell, a man of integrity, which is more than can be said of the majority of politicians!
Congrats, Michael. The man who did more than anyone else to expose the flaws in the ill-judged referendum proposals has his mandate overwhelmingly re-affirmed.
@Peter O’Muiri: the man was the worst minister for justice in history…. destroy the courts system and the prison system with backward reforms that has left it in the state its in now
@Fergus O’Donnell: again he is to intelligent for that charade, that’s a puppets game micheal is possible the most intelligent educated of the lot of them, take care.
Great to hear, I didn’t like his politics but he speaks a lot of sense, called out the last two referendums early on and called out the madness of the hate speech bill. Good to see.
@Vincent Alexander: Like the credible housing policy FG have enacted for 14 years ? Ironic coming from someone who never who never has any credible comments..
@Vincent Alexander: Now we both know that’s not true.. you wouldn’t vote for ” the opposition” if hell froze over.. regardless of policies. So stop pretending this is a policy issue. As for credibility.. Is it credible our goverment negotiated a programme for government with a convicted criminal. A man our dear leader called on to resign when he was found by the tribunal to have been “profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking” ? The own one with credibility issues here is you ..
@Brian: If you are referring to SF you are correct, however there are other opposition parties that I would and have voted for. It is less than ideal to have to deal with Lowry but better than dealing with SF.
As regards the housing policy you in your wisdom could have predicted the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent knock on effect on the price of oil and the influx of refugees.
@Vincent Alexander: ” less than ideal ” ? It’s rank hypocrisy.. call it what it is. As for your list of excuses as to why FG haven’t put in place a credible/ successful housing strategy in 14 years.. you’re just peddling their spin for their failure. I find it remarkable that you talk of credibility yet whilst unable to deliver current housing targets you belive its credible for them to pledge to build 50k a year over next 5 years.. despite the fact the construction industry is telling them these targets are impossible because our grid and water/waste system simply can’t cope with those numbers. Of course the fact that our services infrastructure has been underfunded for decades is lost in you. None of what you are saying is credible.
@Brian: So the knock on effect of the Russian invasion is only spin. Ir is fact. Prior to that we had an influx of Northern “refugees” as a result of the terror campaign by the armed wing of SF. There was also a waste of money on extra security.
You are so good at predicting the future and making provision for the unknown can you predict the effect of Trump’s presidency I’ll have on our economy.
@Vincent Alexander: Unsurprisingly you haven’t addressed anything I’ve said. I’ve no idea why you’re waffling in about the Ukraine war.. or these “northern” refugees?? ( have you a figure for these BTW,? You’re just making stuff up at this stage) Ireland’s population has risen from 3.1 million in 2000 to 5.1 in 2025… these things are forecasted, as is the rise given by the CSO yesterday to a figure of 6.4m by 2042. This is well known Any goverment should be planning for the future based on these projections .FFGs neglect of our critical infrastructure for decades is huge factor in the construction industrys inability to now meet demmand as they play catch up. Complete policy failure has led us here. Sooner you and your ilk realise/admit that the better for everyone in this country.
@Brian: Yesterday the CSO did issue a prediction for a population increase but there was no prediction for the increase from 2000 to 2025. As regards the influx from the North figures are not available but they have a significant presence in border counties. The troubles in Sub Sahara Africa and the Ukraine have a significant effect on the housing crisis. The CSO could not have predicted these events and their impact on this country. Hindsight is a great tool for criticism.
I know it’s the wrong article but it has to be asked, why is the comments section closed on the Junior Ministerial appointments, surely The Journal is operating a type of Censorship with that, and aiding the Government.
@Setanta O’Toole: Yes it was great to see McDowell lose his seat to John Gormley and it is a pity McDowell couldn’t keep the promise he made at the time of his defeat to never seek public office again.
Congrats to Michael McDowell on getting re-elected. He’s probably the best politician in Ireland right now and his talents are wasted in the Seanad. He would make a great Taoiseach and is miles ahead of the current idiots in power right now. As Minister for Justice, he actually did his job properly and implemented some great reforms. He clamped down on anti-social behaviour with the Intoxicating Liquor Act and stopped the flow of anchor babies in Ireland by wisely ending birthright citizenship. He clamped down on illegal immigration in general and enforced deportation orders like Justice Ministers are supposed to do, with the number of illegal immigrants dropping to record lows under his term. His excellent leadership against the farcical referendums last year helped them get defeated.
@William Jennings: he became leader of the Progressive Democrats in 2006. No election. A political stroke. Scuttled out of the RDS after losing his seat and resigned as leader without consulting his colleagues. Tanaistas pension in his very large pocket. Waisted millions of tax payers money on Thornton Hall. Haughty and arrogant.
@Philip Kennedy: He lost one election in his entire career by 300 votes. I’d hardly say that’s a personal indictment on him. He donates all of his pension to charity so you’re dead wrong there. When it comes to Thornton Hall, you have to remember that land values fluctuate, and at the time, the purchase price was within market expectations. The decision was made based on expert assessments and the need for a strategically located site. Opponents failed to present viable alternative locations that met the same criteria in terms of size, accessibility, and suitability. The money was only wasted because after McDowell left office, the government decided to cancel the project completely. Considering the overcrowding we have right now, that was an extremely stupid decision by them.
And the Gravy train has its first passenger. If you ask me all politics should be voluntary position because the 3/4’s of the politicians in this country are only their position because of the huge salaries they get and a lot of politicians are political families too.
Delighted for Michael and hopefully that catherine zappone is kept out of anything on this island. Had enough of her “ideology” and her attempts to be funded by the taxpayer. Let Donald keep her and he is well able to Bury her wokeness.
While I voted for Michael McDowell I realise that Seanad Eireann is no longer fit for purpose. It is an archaic institution out of step with a modern democracy. The question in the previous referendum was obviously wrong as the electorate voted against it. A new referendum to change it to a directly elected chamber is now needed. Some of you may not agree with a second chamber but it is the only means of checks and balances we have.
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