The Roman Catholic Church should reform the hearing of confessions in England and Wales, enabling priests and children to be "seen but not heard" in a safe environment, according to a new recommendation.
Where possible, the church should replace the old-style closed confessional box and grille with a glass screen as part of a programme of 83 recommendations by an independent committee, led by Lord Nolan, dealing with the prevention of child abuse, which was published yesterday.
Many modern churches already use glass panels in the doors of confessional boxes but the committee recommends that all Catholic churches implement total visibility - such as glass screens - while ensuring people outside the confessional cannot hear the confession.
Lord Nolan told a press conference at the launch of the committee's final report, entitled "A programme for Action", that the recommendations required "vigorous action" by the Catholic Church. "Our overriding aim has been to create a secure environment for children. Our approach has been to identify best child protection practice, and, wherever possible, to apply it to the policies and procedures of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
"Child abuse is a great evil. Our hope is that this report will help to bring about a culture of vigilance where every single adult member of the church consciously and actively takes responsibility for creating a safe environment for children," Lord Nolan said.
The review committee was established last year by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, following damaging revelations about the presence and activities of paedophile clergy and what was seen by many of their victims as the church's unwillingness to acknowledge or respond to cases of child abuse.
The recommendations will supersede guidelines on child protection established in 1994, which some child abuse support groups said did not work.
In April, the church agreed to implement each of the 50 recommendations contained in the committee's interim report, including appointing child protection representatives in every parish and religious order. The final report will be discussed at the Catholic bishops' conference in Leeds in November.
In his response, Archbishop Murphy-O'Connor said Lord Nolan had published a "thorough and comprehensive" document. "It is the aim of us all that the Catholic Church in England and Wales will come to be seen as an example of best practice in the prevention of child abuse, and in responding to it," he said.
The Archbishop of Birmingham, Dr Vincent Nichols, who was appointed in April to implement the recommendations, said the church would encourage people who believed they had been abused to come forward.
The report also recommends that everyone working within the church, including lay volunteers and clergy, should be subject to police checks and all applicants asked to disclose details of any offences against children and young people.
One abuse support group expressed concern that the recommendations would not be implemented.
Ms Margaret Kennedy, co-ordinator of Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors, said: "What I am afraid of is that there will be a repeat of the 1994 document - that was very good and was actually very extensive. But it was not implemented."
Lord Nolan's report can be read in full at www.nolanreview.org.uk