Report on the Seal of the Confessional

Forward in Faith welcomes the publication of the Report of the Seal of the Confessional Working Party. We welcome the recommendation that clergy should receive training about the sacramental ministry of reconciliation – something that we have long advocated. We are also grateful for the extensive quotations from our submission

The Church of England affirms that the seal of the confessional is ‘an essential principle of Church doctrine’ (Act of Convocation, 1959). We welcome the fact that, having carefully considered the evidence set out in this report, ‘a clear majority [of the Working Party] concluded that the weight of evidence falls in favour of the seal being maintained’.

Now that the report has been published, we renew our call on the House of Bishops to re-affirm the Seal of the Confessional as an essential principle of the doctrine of the Universal Church, as received by the Church of England.