The Catholic Union has called for a Working Group to be established to look at how a mandatory reporting requirement for child sexual abuse could best be implemented in practice.
Responding to a Home Office consultation, the Catholic Union said it supported the principle of making it a legal requirement to report child sexual abuse, but highlighted the impact this could have on the Sacrament of Reconciliation – one of the seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church.
The Union said this was a “sensitive and complicated area” and called for more detailed consideration before any new safeguarding legislation is introduced, “if necessary through the creation of a Working Group”.
The Home Office consultation is in response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which highlighted a number of safeguarding concerns with institutions in this country, including the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
In their submission, the Catholic Union said: “the failure of the Church to protect children within our own community, and wider society, is a source of deep sadness and regret to Catholics in this country.”
The Union said that any new safeguarding law needed to be based on evidence and take account of existing best practice and procedures in the Church, which have improved significantly since the findings of the IICSA report.
The Catholic Union’s full response to the consultation is available below.