Catholic World News: Will Irish legislation challenge seal of confession?

Uncertainty abounds:

Legislation put forward by the Irish government to require mandatory reporting of sex-abuse allegations will not specifically mention the matter, but a justice department official says that the bill does not provide an exemption for sacramental confession.

Justice minister Alan Shatter told reporters that the debate over preserving the confessional seal was "an entirely bogus issue." The point of the legislation, he said, was to ensure that anyone informed about the sexual abuse of children would report to police, "unless there is a reasonable excuse not to do so."

That statement by Shatter allowed for the possibility that sacramental confession would be exempt. Since priests undertake a solemn obligation never to reveal the content of confessions, under penalty of excommunication, they would clearly have a "reasonable excuse."