Is there a social benefit from sinners using confession as a means of reformation of character? How do we decide which confidences should be protected by law? Are children and the vulnerable any better protected by making inroads into the doctrinal practice of confession?

The Foreword by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, notes that no community of faith can exist without a foundation of trust. That bond is shattered when religious authorities betray trust, such as by physical or mental abuse, but confession requires confidences to be maintained for the sacrament of penance to be meaningful. This volume seeks to stimulate discussion and to inform a deeper understanding of this tangled and urgent issue.

The book is published by Shepherd Street Press and will shortly be available in the UK via Book Depository.