Sir, – Much ink has been spilt in recent weeks as to whether or not the seal of confession ought to be broken in a case where an ephebophile or paedophile confesses to abusing a child.
Little consideration has been given to the problem of a general practitioner like myself, where an underage girl presents for treatment in pregnancy.
If there is mandatory reporting, will I have to report this case to the Garda? Or if an underage girl seeks the morning-after pill or pregnancy counselling, will the doctor or pharmacist or counseller have to report a crime? Whether or not the girl has consented, it is a case of statutory rape, ie child sex abuse. In such a case, there is absolutely no doubt but that a crime has been committed. And it is by no means a rare occurrence. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While clerical sexual abuse is particularly shocking, it is relatively a very small part of the problem. With regard to the substantive issue of compulsory reporting, apart from the obvious consideration that, rather than actually protecting children, it would effectively bury social workers under an avalanche of largely useless information, it seems to me the church authorities, caught on the back foot, in fact have conceded too much. We may well be sleepwalking into a totalitarian nightmare, where anyone with a grudge or a notion can ruin anyone they object to, and they will be considered guilty until proven innocent. And I suppose once again the church will eventually be accused of failing to stand up to totalitarianism! – Yours, etc,