KENYON: After the sexual assault Aidan ran from the room. He told another priest what had happened. But instead of going to
the authorities the priests invoked one of the most powerful tenets of the Catholic faith - To bar Aidan or his abuser from
ever speaking out.
DOYLE: He said to me 'I'm going to apply the seal of confession to you, so that you must never talk about this, and it will
be kept secret.' And I remember saying that that evening. That why should I have to keep quiet about something that I
hadn't initiated?
KENYON: Aidan didn't know it, but an oath of silence was part of the secret church decree called 'crimen sollicitationis'
(crime of solicitation). The directive was written in 1962, and Catholic bishops worldwide are ordered to keep it locked
away in the church safe. It instructs them on how to deal with priests who solicit sex from the confessional. But it also
deals with any obscene external acts with youths of either sex. Child abuse. Originally written in Latin it imposes the
strictest oath of secrecy on the child victim, the priest dealing with the allegation, and any witnesses. Breaking that oath
means instant banishment from the Catholic Church - excommunication.