The
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter (pictured) yesterday said the row over
proposals to break the seal of confession is “an entirely bogus 
issue”. With
respect to the Minister, it is not.
How can it
be when Mr Shatter himself, as well as Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for
Children, Frances Fitzgerald, have all insisted that a proposed new mandatory reporting
law will extend to the seal of confession and will require priests to report
confessions of child abuse to the Gardai?
So the
reason it is an issue, is because the Government itself, egged on by the media,
has made it an issue.
Mr Shatter (a
politician I respect, incidentally, despite disagreeing with him on some issues)
says the legislation will not mention the seal, but it does not have to in
order for it to extend to the seal. Depending on how it is worded, unless the
seal is specifically exempted, we can assume it will not be exempted.
In fact, we
are assured by the Government it will not be exempted. Therefore in what way is
the issue of the seal of confession “entirely bogus”?
The point-blank
question for the Government is this; will the proposed legislation require
priests to break the seal of confession or not?