The Sacrament of Confession and Child Sexual Abuse: Reported Practise of Tasmanian Anglican Clergy Navigating the Confidentiality Dilemma
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.35021Keywords:
Child Sexual Abuse, confessional, Anglican Church, clergy, confidentialityAbstract
The sacrament of confession is criticised for impeding clerical reporting ofinformation about child sexual abuse to authorities. The sacrament of confessionis found within Catholicism and Anglicanism and imposes a ‘seal’on priests, forbidding them from ever revealing details of the sins confessedto them. This creates a moral dilemma in cases of abuse: should the priestobey canon or civil law? There have been recent efforts in AustralianAnglicanism to address this dilemma via canonical reform in 2014 and2017. In light of these changes, this article examines the perspectives ofAnglican clergy in the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania towards the confessionalseal. Findings reveal that most clergy would not obey canon law andecclesiastical instructions about maintaining the confessional seal on thegrounds that this requirement contravenes their theological and moralprinciples. The clergy also describe their approaches to responding toinformation of harm revealed both in confessional and pastoral encounters,demonstrating a desire to act in ways that assist all parties involved.References
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Chapman, Mark. 2012. Anglican Theology. Bloomsbury, Edinburgh.
Charmaz, Kathy. 2011. Grounded Theory Methods in Social Justice Research. In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by Norman Denzin and Yvonne Lincoln, 359-80. Sage Publications, London.
Cornwell, John. 2014. The Dark Box: A Secret History of the Confession. Pro?le Books, London.
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Guerzoni, Michael Andre. 2018. A Situational Crime Prevention Analysis of Anglican Clergy’s Child Protective Practices. Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal 77: 85-98.
Guerzoni, Michael Andre, and Hannah Graham. 2015. Catholic Church Responses to Clergy-Child Sexual Abuse and Mandatory Reporting Exemptions in Victoria, Australia: A Discursive Critique. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 4(4): 58-75. Doi:https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v4i4.205.
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Kane, Michael N. 2013. Catholic Priests’ Knowledge of Pastoral Codes of Conduct in the United States. Ethics & Behavior 22(3): 199-13. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2012.737690.
Keenan, Marie. 2012. Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church: Gender, Power and Organisational Culture. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Morrison, Zoë. 2005. Reporting the Abuse of Children and Young People and Responding to Adult Sexual Assault: A study into the attitudes and behaviours of clergy and church-workers in the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide when dealing with the abuse of children and sexual assault of adults. Online:https://adelaideanglicans.com/s/13-morrisonreportfull.pdf (accessed 25 January 2017).
Nash, John F. 2011. The Sacramental Church: The Story of Anglo-Catholicism. Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR.
National Meeting of Australian Bishops. 2011. Private Confession: Pastoral Guidelines with Special Reference to Child Sexual Abuse. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/ANG.0386.001.0001.pdf (accessed 9 February 2018).
O’Neill, Erin O. et al. 2010. Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect through Church and Social Service Collaboration. Social Work & Christianity 37(4): 381-406.
Plante, Thomas G. 2015. Four Lessons Learned from Treating Catholic Priest Sex Offenders. Pastoral Psychology 64: 407-12. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-014-0623-3.
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 2017a. Criminal Justice Report: Parts III-VI. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?le-list/?nal_report_-_criminal_justice_report_-_executive_summary_and_parts_i_to_ii.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017b. Criminal Justice Report: Parts Vii-X and Appendices. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online:https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?le-list/?nal_report_-_criminal_justice_report_-_parts_iii_to_vi.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017c. Final Report: Volume 16, Religious Institutions Book 1. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?nal_report_-_volume_16_religious_institutions_book_1.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017d. Final Report: Volume 16, Religious Institutions Book 2. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?nal_report_-_volume_16_religious_institutions_book_2.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018).
Saldaña, Johnny.. 2009. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Sage Publications, London.
Spencer, Stephen. 2010. Anglicanism (SCM Studyguide). SCM Press, London.
The Standing Committee of the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Australia. 2014. The Constitution Canons and Rules of the Anglican Church of Australia. Garratt Publishing, Mulgrave, VIC. 2017. Bills of the Seventeenth Session of General Synod Book 1:https://www.anglican.org.au/data/GS17_Books/Book_5_-_Bills_-_Child_Protection_v3_110817.pdf (accessed 12 September 2017).
Stott, J. 1964. Confess Your Sins: The Way to Reconciliation. Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Strauss, Anselm, and Juleit Corbin. 1990. Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Sage Publications, London.
Sykes, Gresham M., and David Matza. 1957. Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency. American Sociological Review 22(6): 664-70. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2089195.
Thompson, A. Keith. 2006. Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law: A Historical Analysis. PhD diss., Murdoch University, Perth.
Tran, Danny, and Karen Percy. 2017. Australian Catholics Pass Judgement on Royal Commission Calls to Break Confessional Seal. Online: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-15/catholics-pass-judgement-on-calls-for-confessional-broken/8809272 (accessed 2 October 2017).
Yates III, John W. 2017. Sola Scriptura. In Reformation Anglicanism: A Vision for Today’s Global Communion, edited by John Adhley Null and John W. Yates, 105-21. Crossway, Wheaton, IL.
The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania. 1989. Canon Concerning Confessions 1989.
The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania. 2016. Canons of General Synod Which Have Been Adopted or Assented to by the Synod of the Diocese of Tasmania. Online: https://anglicantas.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Canons_assented_as_at_2015.pdf.
Avis, Paul D.L. 2013. An Anglican Understanding of the Church: An Introduction. SPCK, London.
Bray, Gerald. 2009. The Faith We Confess: An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles. The Latimer Trust, London.
Brennan, Frank. 2012. Child Abuse Dobbing Laws. Eureka Street (27 July): 17-20.
Brennan, Frank. 2017. Frank Brennan: Why I Will Break the Law rather than the Seal of Confession. Online: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/frank-brennan-why-i-will-break-the-law-rather-than-the-seal-of-confession-20170814-gxw7it.html (accessed 2 October 2017).
Cahill, Desmond, and Peter Wilkinson. 2017. Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Interpretive Review of the Literature and Public Inquiry Reports. Online: https://www.rmit.edu.au/content/dam/rmit/documents/news/church-abuse/child-sex-abuse-and-the-catholic-church.pdf (accessed 10 February 2018).
Calenza, Andrea. 2006. Sexual Boundary Violations: Therapeutic, Supervisory, and Academic Contexts. Jason Aronson, Plymouth.
Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church. 1995. Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church. Doubleday, New York.
Catholic Church in Victoria. 2012. Facing the Truth Learning from the Past: How the Catholic Church in Victoria Has Responded to Child Abuse—A Submission by the Catholic Church in Victoria to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non?Government Organisations. Online:www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Catholic_Church_in_Victoria.pdf (accessed 2 October 2017).
Chapman, Mark. 2012. Anglican Theology. Bloomsbury, Edinburgh.
Charmaz, Kathy. 2011. Grounded Theory Methods in Social Justice Research. In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by Norman Denzin and Yvonne Lincoln, 359-80. Sage Publications, London.
Cornwell, John. 2014. The Dark Box: A Secret History of the Confession. Pro?le Books, London.
Dalton, Kari M. 2012. The Priest–Penitent Privilege v. Child Abuse Reporting Statutes: How to Avoid the Con?ict and Serve Society. Widener Law Review 18(1): 1-25.
Daly, Brendan. 2003. Seal of Confession: A Strict Obligation for Priests. The Australasian Catholic Record 90(1): 3-21.
Family and Community Development Committee (Parliament of Victoria). 2013. Betrayal of Trust: Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non Government Organisations, Volume 1.Parliament of Victoria: East Melbourne.
Faught, C. Brad. 2004. The Oxford Movement: A Thematic History of the Tractarians and Their Times. Penn State University Press, Pennsylvania.
Fisher, Robert J. 1993. Social Desirability Bias and the Validity of Indirect Questioning. Journal of Consumer Research 20(2): 303-15. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/209351.
Government of Tasmania. 2001. Evidence Act 2001. Online: https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-076 (accessed 2 October 2017).
Greenawalt, Kent. 2006. Religion and the Constitution. Vol. 1, Free Exercise and Fairness. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Grudem, Wayne. 2009. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham.
Guerzoni, Michael Andre. 2018. A Situational Crime Prevention Analysis of Anglican Clergy’s Child Protective Practices. Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal 77: 85-98.
Guerzoni, Michael Andre, and Hannah Graham. 2015. Catholic Church Responses to Clergy-Child Sexual Abuse and Mandatory Reporting Exemptions in Victoria, Australia: A Discursive Critique. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 4(4): 58-75. Doi:https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v4i4.205.
Harman, Joe. 2013. The Power of Confession: Mandatory Reporting, Confession and the Evidence Act. Alternative Law Journal 38(4): 239-44. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X1303800408.
Harrower, John. 2007. Ad Clerum Confession of Sins. Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Hobart. 2010. Ad Clerum Confession of Sins. Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Hobart. 2013. Ad Clerum 05/2013 Confession of Sins. Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Hobart. 2015. Ad Clerum 07/2015 Confession of Sins. Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Hobart.
Kane, Michael N. 2013. Catholic Priests’ Knowledge of Pastoral Codes of Conduct in the United States. Ethics & Behavior 22(3): 199-13. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2012.737690.
Keenan, Marie. 2012. Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church: Gender, Power and Organisational Culture. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Morrison, Zoë. 2005. Reporting the Abuse of Children and Young People and Responding to Adult Sexual Assault: A study into the attitudes and behaviours of clergy and church-workers in the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide when dealing with the abuse of children and sexual assault of adults. Online:https://adelaideanglicans.com/s/13-morrisonreportfull.pdf (accessed 25 January 2017).
Nash, John F. 2011. The Sacramental Church: The Story of Anglo-Catholicism. Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR.
National Meeting of Australian Bishops. 2011. Private Confession: Pastoral Guidelines with Special Reference to Child Sexual Abuse. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/ANG.0386.001.0001.pdf (accessed 9 February 2018).
O’Neill, Erin O. et al. 2010. Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect through Church and Social Service Collaboration. Social Work & Christianity 37(4): 381-406.
Plante, Thomas G. 2015. Four Lessons Learned from Treating Catholic Priest Sex Offenders. Pastoral Psychology 64: 407-12. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-014-0623-3.
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 2017a. Criminal Justice Report: Parts III-VI. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?le-list/?nal_report_-_criminal_justice_report_-_executive_summary_and_parts_i_to_ii.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017b. Criminal Justice Report: Parts Vii-X and Appendices. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online:https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?le-list/?nal_report_-_criminal_justice_report_-_parts_iii_to_vi.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017c. Final Report: Volume 16, Religious Institutions Book 1. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?nal_report_-_volume_16_religious_institutions_book_1.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018). 2017d. Final Report: Volume 16, Religious Institutions Book 2. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney. Online: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/?les/?nal_report_-_volume_16_religious_institutions_book_2.pdf (accessed 17 January 2018).
Saldaña, Johnny.. 2009. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Sage Publications, London.
Spencer, Stephen. 2010. Anglicanism (SCM Studyguide). SCM Press, London.
The Standing Committee of the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Australia. 2014. The Constitution Canons and Rules of the Anglican Church of Australia. Garratt Publishing, Mulgrave, VIC. 2017. Bills of the Seventeenth Session of General Synod Book 1:https://www.anglican.org.au/data/GS17_Books/Book_5_-_Bills_-_Child_Protection_v3_110817.pdf (accessed 12 September 2017).
Stott, J. 1964. Confess Your Sins: The Way to Reconciliation. Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Strauss, Anselm, and Juleit Corbin. 1990. Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Sage Publications, London.
Sykes, Gresham M., and David Matza. 1957. Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency. American Sociological Review 22(6): 664-70. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2089195.
Thompson, A. Keith. 2006. Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law: A Historical Analysis. PhD diss., Murdoch University, Perth.
Tran, Danny, and Karen Percy. 2017. Australian Catholics Pass Judgement on Royal Commission Calls to Break Confessional Seal. Online: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-15/catholics-pass-judgement-on-calls-for-confessional-broken/8809272 (accessed 2 October 2017).
Yates III, John W. 2017. Sola Scriptura. In Reformation Anglicanism: A Vision for Today’s Global Communion, edited by John Adhley Null and John W. Yates, 105-21. Crossway, Wheaton, IL.
Published
2018-05-31
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Section
Articles
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Guerzoni, M. A. (2018). The Sacrament of Confession and Child Sexual Abuse: Reported Practise of Tasmanian Anglican Clergy Navigating the Confidentiality Dilemma. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 30(3), 258-280. https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.35021
