It seems that the Irish and English can never be on the same side - now that the English are slowly reintegrating themselves back in to the Catholic Communion, the Irish are disintegrating themselves and into secularism.

But the point is that it is the penitent himself who must make the act of public repentance; the priest-Confessor cannot do it for him. Thus the seal of Confession is not violated.

Maybe the answer is to make absolution for every sin conditional upon public disclosure to the person wronged.
One must tell their spouse of adultery, lust for another, etc.
Tax cheats must report themselves to the IRS. Gossipers must tell the person whom they were talking about. Etc.

They could suggest it and recommend it, but not make it conditional.

These smart phones are great. Here I believe are some relevant canons:

Can.  978 §1. In hearing confessions the priest is to remember that he is equally a judge and a physician and has been established by God as a minister of divine justice and mercy, so that he has regard for the divine honor and the salvation of souls.

§2. In administering the sacrament, the confessor as a minister of the Church is to adhere faithfully to the doctrine of the magisterium and the norms issued by competent authority.

Can.  979 In posing questions, the priest is to proceed with prudence and discretion, attentive to the condition and age of the penitent, and is to refrain from asking the name of an accomplice.

Can.  980 If the confessor has no doubt about the disposition of the penitent, and the penitent seeks absolution, absolution is to be neither refused nor deferred.

Can.  981 The confessor is to impose salutary and suitable penances in accord with the quality and number of sins, taking into account the condition of the penitent. The penitent is obliged to fulfill these personally.

Can.  982 Whoever confesses to have denounced falsely an innocent confessor to ecclesiastical authority concerning the crime of solicitation to sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue is not to be absolved unless the person has first formally retracted the false denunciation and is prepared to repair damages if there are any.

Can.  983 §1. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.

§2. The interpreter, if there is one, and all others who in any way have knowledge of sins from confession are also obliged to observe secrecy.

Can.  984 §1. A confessor is prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confession to the detriment of the penitent even when any danger of revelation is excluded.

§2. A person who has been placed in authority cannot use in any manner for external governance the knowledge about sins which he has received in confession at any time.

Can.  985 The director of novices and his associate and the rector of a seminary or other institute of education are not to hear the sacramental confessions of their students residing in the same house unless the students freely request it in particular cases.

Fr. Jon

Perhaps one of our Eastern Catholic or Orthodox priests or seminarians might shed some light as to a possible Eastern approach to this problem? Whenever I start reading or trying to understand Latin Canon law rules, my head starts to spin and I am trained as a lawyer! The only thing close in the civil law is the IRS code!