Australian cardinal: confessional seal is inviolable, even in abuse cases

November 13, 2012

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia, has said that while the Church will cooperate with a federal commission investigating child abuse, priests will not break the seal of confession.

Someone who confesses sins involving abuse will not be reported to police by his confessor, the cardinal said. He explained that while an admission made outside the confessional would be reported, “the seal of confession is inviolable.”

Cardinal Pell said that if a priest is aware that someone has been guilty of abuse, “the priest should refuse to hear the confession.”

The cardinal said that he welcomed the federal investigation because it will “clear the air” and “separate fact from fiction” regarding the Church’s response to sex-abuse complaints. He has said that media reports have portrayed the Church's role unfairly.

 

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Further information:

• Confessions still sacrosanct, says Cardinal George Pell (The Australian)
• Defiant Cardinal George Pell says sex abuse royal commission will 'separate fact from fiction' (News.com)