Confidentiality ...continued

CAN CONFIDENTIALITY BE BREACHED?

In the great majority of cases, privacy and confidentiality should be strictly preserved, but there are exceptional occasions when the situation may be questioned. Journalists for instance have a strict code of conduct to keep their sources confidential, rightly believing that if they did not do so, their informers would probably not divulge secret information to them.

There is also the aspect in religion where the priest must keep everything he hears at a confession absolutely sacrosanct. There must be times when he has to wrestle with his conscience on how to handle confessions of a serious nature.

The question raised is whether at any time confidential data can be disclosed if it is in the interests of justice to do so. The community may be at risk or even the lives and welfare of others.

One way of dealing with this dilemma would be for the priest/pastor/counsellor to caution the one who is confessing that if the confession includes anything of a very serious nature which is illegal etc. it would probably be necessary to report it to the appropriate authorities, be it the Social services or the Police, and if they are very anxious to get matters cleared up the counsellor could volunteer to accompany them. After all they must have a concern to put things right if they have confessed.

Another suggestion offered to counsellors etc. is for the confessee to put his confession in writing should they at a later date withdraw or amend it verbally.