The National Secular Society (NSS) has welcomed the UK government’s confirmation that a proposed mandatory reporting law for child sexual abuse will include no religious exemptions, even for disclosures made in confessionals.
Newsdesk (15/05/2025 11:48, Gaudium Press) The National Secular Society (NSS) has welcomed the UK government’s confirmation that a proposed mandatory reporting law for child sexual abuse will include no religious exemptions, even for disclosures made in confessionals. This follows NSS lobbying after senior clergy, including Bishop of Manchester David Walker, argued that confessions should remain confidential due to historical religious doctrine.
Alejandro Sanchez, NSS spokesperson, said “While the proposed law doesn’t fully implement IICSA’s recommendations, we welcome the exclusion of religious exemptions. Safeguarding children must always take precedence over religious privileges.”
The NSS intervention came after the Anglican bishop of Manchester, David Walker, claimed there was an “arguable case” for exempting child sexual abuse revealed during confession. Walker’s comments were made during a debate on the Crime and Policing Bill in the House of Lords, where he sits by right.
He said the tradition of “the seal of the confessional” had been “honoured for many centuries” and was “established in canon law in this land”. “I know my Catholic colleagues will particularly be concerned around that”, he added.
In 2023, eight Anglican bishops actively opposed mandatory reporting of abuse revealed in the confessional. Among them was the bishop of Chichester Martin Warner, who also sits on the bishops’ bench. The Church of England said it ‘doesn’t know’ if the confessional should be exempted.
In 2019, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster told IICSA the confessional ‘seal’ was “an essential part of the exercise of priesthood” and a recommendation to break it “would be rejected”.
Research has found that sexual abusers within Catholic clergy have used confession to disclose their abuse and absolve themselves of guilt, in the knowledge that their abuse would not be reported. This enabled the continuation of abuse.
No criminal sanction for failing to report abuse
The bill does not include a criminal sanction for failing to report child sexual abuse, despite this also being recommended by IICSA.
Instead, an individual who fails to report abuse may be referred to their professional regulator or the Disclosure and Barring Service.
The NSS worked with parliamentarians to amend the bill to include a criminal sanction, but the proposals were not supported by the Government and therefore failed.
Catholic position on the seal of confession
The seal of confession is inviolable—meaning it can never be broken—because it is rooted in divine law, the sacred nature of the sacrament, and the Church’s unwavering commitment to protecting the sanctity of the penitent’s trust. The inviolability of the seal ensures that confession remains a sacred refuge of God’s mercy, where sinners can seek forgiveness without fear. The Church would rather have priests face martyrdom than break this seal, because the eternal good of souls outweighs all earthly concerns.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from secularism.org.uk
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