A long history of jail and the seal of the confessional

FATHER Brendan Hoban, parish priest, theologian, writer and one of the founders of the Association of Catholic Priests, is prepared to go to jail rather than break the traditional seal of confession.

It may come to that, as Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald issued what could become the 21st-century penal laws.

In the wake of the Cloyne report, the minister warned that priests who fail to abide by strict new regulations to disclose information on child abuse could face up to five years in prison.