Let’s face it, the church has proved itself to be untrustworthy and cannot be relied upon. Therefore, it needs to join the modern world and become liable for the (in)actions of its’ members.

And yes, while they’re at it, throw that eejit withholding the Anglo passwords in Mountjoy until he unlocks those computers.

Unfortunately I predict a u-turn spun as clarification.

How on earth do they think this ruling will make society ‘less safe’?
This goes way beyond child abuse and covers everything they hear in confession – priests should *not* have any special rank in the law, and should be obliged to report what they hear, just like every other citizen here.

I don’t understand the mindset of a person whose first instinct/reaction upon hearing of such a horrible, horrible crime isn’t to report them as soon as physically possible.

If a priest hears about a crime in confession and doesn’t report it they too should be accountable and prosecuted for not reporting the crime. Someone’s personal beliefs do not shield them from nor place them above the law. The church has had too much power for far too long in this country and it’s about time they started to realise they’re not above the law.

The law is a blunt instrument – someone steals trees from Declan Ganley and gets two years, but the white collar criminals and fraudsters in this country get away scott free.

The confessional and solicitors privilege should both be done away with as as means for the worst of criminals to salve their consciences. The right to silence to avoid self-incrimination should be removed across the board and internationally.

Deletion of e-mails and correspondence to suppress evidence should be made a criminal offence with mandatory sentencing.

And while I’m on this, has that toe-rag who refused to hand Duke the decryption keys to Anglo files been given the sodium pentathol meal yet?

As far as I know the reports of child abuse didn’t originate in the confessional so it’s not the main problem. Yet it’s a nettle that needs to be grasped. If you go about taking confessions and then follow up with forgiveness rather than punishment, there’s something wrong with your sense of social responsibility.

Should that picture caption read ‘not to’ as opposed to ‘to’?

So for child abuse the priests are forced to tell the authorities … what about murder, rape (adult), robbery, theft, etc. Are these less heinous crimes? If government is really serious they would make it for all crimes. Otherwise this is just a PR stunt being used to gain browny points with a hurt nation.

People have given their lives for their religious beliefs, and will continue to. Just because the law is written does not mean the battle is won either. I expect to see priests thrown in jail in the future, this is far from over just because a government minister says it is “so”.

Shurch & State? :P

This isn’t anything new for the church. In the states they are required by law to report any person/crime that any reasonable person believes will occure again or if the person is a danger to themselves or others.

While I agree that confession should not be given exemption fron the requirement to report crime, I’m extremely disturbed at the idea of it being made a criminal offence not to report any crime witnessed of heard about.

For one, I don’t want to be criminalised if I don’t inform on my friends and acquaintances for speeding or smoking a joint or not having a tv license. Secondly, if the people of Ireland scrupulously obey this law the gardai and courts will be overwhelmed with cyclists on footpaths, rubbish dropped on the street, etc.

Now I’m sure if this law was passed the intention would not be to criminalise everyone who sees a joint smoked or a cigarette butt dropped on the ground, but to apply pressure in cases that are getting stuck… but the law will still be there and enforcable, and that’s frightening.

How would this make society less safe? David Quinn really is a simpleton.

Who would have ever thought that persecution of the Catholic Church in Western society would begin in Ireland? What a shame. These politicians who think the Church would abandon the seal of confession have lost their mind. All they are doing is posturing to advance their pathetic political careers.

Misspelling in the headline

Friday the Irish Minister for Children announced that nobody would be exempt from the reporting of abuse in Ireland even in the confessional. Brave words from a increasingly confused Minister Fitzgerald. Her portfolio is that of children not law. Law is the realm of the Minister for Justice who was silent on the issue.

Its can be comforting to think of this as a row between Church and State, but it over plays the distinction and very close relationship between the two since the inception of the State itself.

Myself and few other put this podcast together >> The Church and State: How They Made Society Silent
http://www.mixcloud.com/Soundmigration/the-church-and-state-how-they-made-society-silent/

We went out on to the streets to see what people think themselvers and have interview with :
Diarmuid Ferritter on the very singular role that the Church played in moulding and dealing with Social Policy from the start of the State.
Mary McAuliffe from the organisation Justice For Magdalenes speaks about the extent that the State and the Church were complicit in the brutalisation and enslavement of generations of young women.
The subsidiary role allotted to women in Irish society thanks to the Church is illustrated and spoken about by Dr. Helen Keyes
Mannix Flynn about how he feels we can best move on as a society