LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM)
The Telegraph [London, England]
August 22, 2026
By Camilla Turner
Vicars won’t have to tell police about child abuse confessions under new law
Penance exempt from Labour’s ‘mandatory reporting’ legislation coming into effect next year
Vicars and priests who are told about child sex abuse during confession will be exempt from new “mandatory reporting” laws.
Labour has been accused of creating an “indefensible loophole” by failing to include confession in the Crime and Policing Act, which is coming into force next year.
The new law introduces a legal obligation on those working or volunteering with children to report any disclosures of sex abuse to the authorities, or face sanctions.
Last year, the Home Office wrote to Stephen Evans, the chief executive of the National Secular Society (NSS), to reassure him that the new duty would apply to “all individuals undertaking relevant activity with children, including within religious and faith-based settings”.
In a letter to Mr Evans last May, the Home Office added: “There are no exceptions on the basis of where disclosures are received, including confessionals.”
However, The Telegraph understands that ministers have recently clarified to the Church of England
that the mandatory reporting law will only apply when an adult is undertaking “relevant activity” with children, and that this will not extend to confession.
Mr Evans said: “The Government repeatedly promised there would be no religious exemption from mandatory reporting. Yet the legislation appears to leave open the possibility that disclosures of child sexual abuse made during confession could go unreported.
“That would be an indefensible loophole, representing either serious legislative incompetence or a clear retreat from what the Government promised. Ministers must urgently clarify the law and, if necessary, amend it. No religious practice should take precedence over protecting children from abuse.”
The seal of the confessional is a priest’s obligation under canon law to hear a person’s confession of sin, or imagined sin, in complete confidence.
Under these rules, nothing that a priest is told during confession will be repeated or disclosed under any circumstances. This is also the rule of the
Roman Catholic Church.
Last month, Bishop Robert Springett, the Church of England’s lead on safeguarding, told the General Synod that confession was not a “regulated activity” as defined by the Crime and Policing Act, “and so the responsibility is firmly in our court”.
In 2019, the then most senior Catholic in England and Wales said that priests would rather die than break the seal of the confessional.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who was the archbishop of Westminster until last year, made the comments while giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
The Church has traditionally taught that this is inviolable under all circumstances, and that breaking it for any reason is a grave sin punishable by excommunication.
Cardinal Nichols said that, throughout history, priests had died to defend their role in confession, and that if this were to be challenged, “it might come to that” again.
The inquiry recommended that the new “mandatory reporting” laws have no exemption for confession.
It recognised that “respect of a range of religions or beliefs is recognised as a hallmark of a liberal democracy”, but added: “Nonetheless, neither the freedom of religion or belief nor the rights of parents with regard to the education of their children can ever justify the ill-treatment of children or prevent governmental authorities from taking measures necessary to protect children from harm.
“The Inquiry therefore considers that mandatory reporting as set out in this report should be an absolute obligation; it should not be subject to exceptions based on relationships of confidentiality, religious or otherwise.”
A Church of England spokesman said: “Our managing allegations safeguarding code, introduced in September 2025, is very clear that disclosures of abuse must be reported but with a pastoral and compassionate response so that all victims and survivors who come forward are supported.
“The specific issue of the Seal has been highlighted in a recent report on the Makin Review and is coming back to the House of Bishops in October, now we know the Government position that the Bill does not cover the Seal.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “There are no religious exemptions to reporting instances of child sexual abuse for those working or volunteering with children. The Crime and Policing Bill will not change this.”
Government sources denied that there had been any change in position. They said the mandatory reporting duty only applies to those undertaking “relevant activity” with children, and confession is not included in this.