In a last-minute twist, a California bill that would have required priests to break the sacramental seal of confession was shelved by its sponsor amid a remarkable grassroots campaign mounted by the state’s Catholics, members of other faith groups, and religious liberty advocates from across the country. S.B. Bill 360 was withdrawn the day before Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Confessional seal’
Vatican says ‘no human power’ can compel priests to violate confessional seal
Thursday, July 4th, 2019As California is currently embroiled in a battle over whether to punish priests for not breaking the seal of confession in cases when child abuse is revealed, the Vatican has issued a statement reaffirming the “inviolability” of the confidentiality of confession, and saying political pressure in this regard is a breach of religious liberty. “Every Read more
Working party upholds seal of confession law
Thursday, May 9th, 2019
A Church of England (C of E) working party says the Archbishops’ Council and House of Bishops must decide if C of E church law should change so priests can breach the seal of confession. The working party’s focus was on whether the law could be changed to enable priests to report the abuse, or Read more
No religion is safe if priests are forced to violate confessional seal
Thursday, May 2nd, 2019
If priests are forced to violate the confessional seal, no religion is safe a Dominican priest says. A proposed change in law in California would legally require priests to violate the sacramental seal of confession in suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. Fr Pius Pietrzyk OP, who is an assistant professor of canon law, Read more
Confessional seal could make children safer
Monday, September 3rd, 2018
The President of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference Archbishop Mark Coleridge said at a press conference last Friday that priests will not break the seal of confession, even if that means they might face criminal charges. “We don’t believe it will make children safer, and in certain cases, we think it could make children less safe. Read more
More thought needed before law change about confession
Monday, July 16th, 2018
More thought is needed before passing a law requiring priests in Australia to break the confessional seal to report cases of child sex abuse, says Victoria’s attorney general Martin Pakula. In his view the government needs to further consider 24 of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Read more
Priests willing to go to jail to uphold confessional seal
Monday, June 18th, 2018
Catholic priests say they will face jail rather than break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse. The priests are responding to South Australia’s decision to join the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to create laws to force Catholic priests to break the seal of confession, to report paedophiles to police. The new laws, Read more
New law about confession premature, ill-judged, says Archbishop
Thursday, June 14th, 2018
A new law requiring priests to break confession seal is ‘premature and ill-judged’, says Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge. Priests are not using the seal of confession to protect child abusers. Removing a priest’s legal protection will not make children safer, Coleridge says. While he agrees children’s safety is paramount, he Read more
Laws requiring priests to break the seal of confession passed
Monday, June 11th, 2018
Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some cases have been passed by the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly in Canberra. The new laws expand the Reportable Conduct Scheme governing allegations of child abuse and misconduct to include religious organisations. The legislation makes it illegal for priests to fail to report Read more
Confessional secrecy must end
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
Lawyers representing sexual abuse victims in the United Kingdom say sexual abuse crime reporting should be mandatory. This would mean priests hearing confessions from abuse perpetrators would have to break the seal of the confessional. The lawyers have told Britain’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) that failing to make reporting suspected abuse a Read more