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Religion & Ethics

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

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Sunday: The Catholic seal of confession

26/06/2022

The Catholic seal of confession

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, The Catholic seal of confession

Emily Buchanan takes a look at some of the ethical and religious issues of the week.

If priests are required by law to report child sex abuse, what does it mean for the Catholic seal of confession?
Living with someone of a different faith.

If priests were required by law to report child sex abuse, what would it mean for the Catholic seal of confession?  Priests can never disclose anything they hear during the sacrament of confession.  But a proposed new law could legally require people to report cases of child sex abuse.  If a priest were to hear such evidence during confession, how should he respond?  How could he, and the Church reconcile Church teaching with his need to obey the law, and protect the safety of children?  We examine the arguments on both sides of the debate.

What is it like if you and your partner have different faiths?  Almost 300,000 households in the UK contain people of different faiths living under the same roof.  It may sound like the stuff of sitcoms, but it can cause friction and division within families.  How do you navigate the differences between your beliefs and practices?   Is there a way of bringing two faiths together that can enrich your domestic life?   We speak to a man who was brought up as an Orthodox Jew and is now married to a practising Christian. 

Few people say grace before meals these days.  But Lincoln’s Inn, the largest of London’s Inns of Court, founded in 1422 and the haunt of senior barristers and judges, still raised a few eyebrows this month when it announced that – for the sake of ‘inclusiveness’ - there would no longer be Christian grace before meals.  The writer Quentin Letts takes a dim view of the decision.

Producers:  Jonathan Hallewell and Linda Walker
Presenter:   Emily Buchanan
Editor:         Helen Grady
Studio Managers:  Colin Sutton and Sharon Hughes
Production co-ordinator:  David Baguley

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