FATHER Brendan Hoban, parish priest, theologian, writer
and one of the founders of the Association of Catholic Priests, is
prepared to go to jail rather than break the traditional seal of
confession.
It may come to that, as Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald issued what could become the 21st-century penal laws.
In the wake of the Cloyne report, the minister warned that priests who fail to abide by strict new regulations to disclose information on child abuse could face up to five years in prison.
If Fr Hoban ever finds himself in that situation, he won’t be the first Irish priest to choose a jail cell over disclosure.
The seal of the confessional dates back at least 800 years and was recognised in the early years of Christianity, during the days of the Roman Empire.
The canon law was codified in the 12th century by the jurist Gratian, who claimed: "Let the priest who dares to make known the sins of his penitent be deposed."
Canon 21 of the Fourth Lateran Council, held in 1215, is even more trenchant: "Whoever shall dare to reveal a sin disclosed to him in the tribunal of penance shall not only be deposed from the priestly office but be sent into the confinement of a monastery to do perpetual penance."
Fr Hoban insists that breaching the seal would lead to his immediate expulsion. "No priest will ever be willing to break the seal of confession," he says. "If I do so, I am automatically excomm-unicated; I am not allowed to be a priest, I am not allowed to be at Mass and I am not allowed to receive the sacraments."
Even during the Reformation, the seal was considered inviolate. It also became a central theme during criminal trials following the 1605 Gunpowder Plot — a failed attempt to assassinate King James I of England by a group of Catholics led by Robert Catesby.
During the trial for conspiracy of the leading English Jesuit, Fr Henry Garnet, the defence that the plot had been communicated to him by Catesby under the seal of the confessional was given due consideration by the court, a surprise given the political climate.
It was not until 1735 that the judiciary in England decreed that the seal, though binding on the clergy, did not bind the laity. In 1802 — two years after the Act of Union — the matter was finally settled in favour of the civil authorities in an Irish case.
It concerned the will of John Butler, formerly Catholic bishop of Cork and 12th baron Dun-boyne. He had converted to Protestantism in order to marry and produce an heir, following a refusal by the pope for a dispen-sation from his vow of celibacy. Despite becoming a Protestant, Lord Dunboyne insisted on willing his Co Meath estate to the trustees of Maynooth College.
Challenging his last will and testament, his sister claimed he had reverted to Catholicism and came within a penal law which deprived "papists" of the power to make a will.
Fr William Gahan, a close friend and Catholic priest who attended Butler on his death-bed, refused to disclose whether lord Dunboyne had been a Catholic before he died.
As a result of his refusal, Fr Gahan, an author and theologian like Fr Hoban, was found guilty of contempt of court and was imprisoned.
In the wake of the Cloyne report, the minister warned that priests who fail to abide by strict new regulations to disclose information on child abuse could face up to five years in prison.
If Fr Hoban ever finds himself in that situation, he won’t be the first Irish priest to choose a jail cell over disclosure.
The seal of the confessional dates back at least 800 years and was recognised in the early years of Christianity, during the days of the Roman Empire.
The canon law was codified in the 12th century by the jurist Gratian, who claimed: "Let the priest who dares to make known the sins of his penitent be deposed."
Canon 21 of the Fourth Lateran Council, held in 1215, is even more trenchant: "Whoever shall dare to reveal a sin disclosed to him in the tribunal of penance shall not only be deposed from the priestly office but be sent into the confinement of a monastery to do perpetual penance."
Fr Hoban insists that breaching the seal would lead to his immediate expulsion. "No priest will ever be willing to break the seal of confession," he says. "If I do so, I am automatically excomm-unicated; I am not allowed to be a priest, I am not allowed to be at Mass and I am not allowed to receive the sacraments."
Even during the Reformation, the seal was considered inviolate. It also became a central theme during criminal trials following the 1605 Gunpowder Plot — a failed attempt to assassinate King James I of England by a group of Catholics led by Robert Catesby.
During the trial for conspiracy of the leading English Jesuit, Fr Henry Garnet, the defence that the plot had been communicated to him by Catesby under the seal of the confessional was given due consideration by the court, a surprise given the political climate.
It was not until 1735 that the judiciary in England decreed that the seal, though binding on the clergy, did not bind the laity. In 1802 — two years after the Act of Union — the matter was finally settled in favour of the civil authorities in an Irish case.
It concerned the will of John Butler, formerly Catholic bishop of Cork and 12th baron Dun-boyne. He had converted to Protestantism in order to marry and produce an heir, following a refusal by the pope for a dispen-sation from his vow of celibacy. Despite becoming a Protestant, Lord Dunboyne insisted on willing his Co Meath estate to the trustees of Maynooth College.
Challenging his last will and testament, his sister claimed he had reverted to Catholicism and came within a penal law which deprived "papists" of the power to make a will.
Fr William Gahan, a close friend and Catholic priest who attended Butler on his death-bed, refused to disclose whether lord Dunboyne had been a Catholic before he died.
As a result of his refusal, Fr Gahan, an author and theologian like Fr Hoban, was found guilty of contempt of court and was imprisoned.