Free Republic

Catholic priests in California would be legally obligated to report to police sexual abuse confessions brought to them by fellow priests and other church employees if a bill quickly moving through the state legislature becomes law. Religious liberty advocates, including representatives of Catholic dioceses in California, challenge the legislation, saying it would invade a sacred space and direct priests to violate the “seal of confession.” “Sometimes the best intentions can lead to bad legislation,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement on California’s Senate Bill 360, which was approved by wide margins last week and now heads to...

In response to pending bill requiring Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about through the sacrament, priests insist on upholding sacred trust. California state Sen. Jerry Hill introduced a bill to the state Legislature on Feb. 20 that would require Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about in the confessional. The clergy and more than 40 other professions are already mandatory reporters there, but crimes disclosed during confession have been exempt. According to Hill, “The exemption for clergy only protects the abuser and places children at further risk.” The bill is currently awaiting a hearing. Although...

CANBERRA, Australia, June 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A new law in Australia requires Catholic priests in Canberra to break the sacred seal of confession to report a child-sex abuser. The law, which has drawn fierce opposition from Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Canberra, could result in faithful priests being jailed who refuse to comply. A bill passed on June 7 by the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) extends mandatory reporting of child abuse to cover churches and church activities, including the Catholic confessional. All the political parties in the Assembly supported the measure. A Roman Catholic priest cannot...

The excommunication, which is automatic in this case, was approved by the Holy SeeAfter two years of investigation, the Holy See decided to excommunicate a priest in Australia, the British Daily Mail reported today. The investigation revealed Father Ezinwanne Igbo had broken the Seal of the Confessional–the absolute duty of priests not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents in the Sacrament of Penance. The facts, which go back to 2016, led to the opening of an investigation based on a dozen complaints against Father Igbo. Originally from Nigeria, he was a priest at the Stella Maris Parish in...

A priest has no duty to report confidential information heard during a sacramental confession, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Friday in a bid to clear up what it called the "widespread confusion" caused by its decision two years ago in a long-running case involving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. The diocese had warned after the 2014 ruling that the sanctity of the confessional was under attack by the ruling the church said might force a priest to reveal in court what was privately told to him. The case involves a young woman who claims she told a Baton...

Conservatives may be tempted to wonder whether it’s worth fighting. In this soundbite, instant­dislike, tl;dr, flashsnipe, banal, fractious, impressionistic, politicized culture of ours, our instinct can be to retreat, to separate fully, to disengage. I’ve been there, and when I have, I’ve been wrong. So long as we are alive, there is ground to be gained in the battle for truth. Yesterday’s results from the 2016 Synodical Convention of the Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod are such a gain. In three key resolutions, which passed with remarkable success, delegates to the convention voted to affirm that only pastors may do what...

Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2015 / 05:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition from a Louisiana Catholic diocese that fears a civil lawsuit could force a priest to violate the seal of confession or go to jail. The Diocese of Baton Rouge and diocesan priest Father Jeff Bayhi were disappointed by the decision, which the diocese said has “significant ramifications for religious freedom in Louisiana and beyond.” “The diocese and Fr. Bayhi will continue their efforts to protect the guarantees of religious freedom set forth in our state and federal constitutions, and are...

When in 2008 Father Jeff Bayhi, a priest then at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Clinton, La., heard the troubling confession of a twelve-year-old parishioner, he likely did not imagine that his sacramental duty would land him in prison. But given a recent ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court, Father Bayhi is in the position of choosing between prison and excommunication. Per the Supreme Court’s ruling, Bayhi must appear before the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, which will determine whether what he heard – a civil action by the girl’s parents contends that it involved...

Hillary Breaks Down And Comes Clean on The Utter Failure of Her Political Career But More Than Likely She's Just Really Screwing With Your Mind, America!

Val Patterson said his life motto was "Anything for a laugh." And after the 59-year-old died of throat cancer last week, he owned up to a few humorous events from his life. Patterson's obituary in The Salt Lake Tribune begins like many others, with a loving tribute to his wife, Mary Jane, and recollections of a life lived in full. But then things get more interesting, as Patterson notes, "Now that I have gone to my reward, I have confessions and things I should now say." First up, the former engineer admits he never earned the advanced degree from the...

Pope: There's an Answer to Empty Confessionals Explains St. John Vianney's "Virtuous Circle" Secret VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging priests to not become resigned to empty confessionals, but to help people rediscover the beauty of the sacrament by deepening their understanding of the Eucharist. The Pope stated this in a letter to the priests of the world, on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which begins Friday in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars. The saint "taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of...

The next very important piece of "furniture" that you see in Catholic churches consists in-how shall I describe it? Perhaps it looks like a sentinel-box, or a telephone-kiosk, with an extra little room on either side. You may see a priest sitting in the middle part, listening to what someone in one of the side parts is telling him. This bit of furniture is called the "confessional," and sometimes it is differently constructed-the priest may be in a real little room walled off from the part into which people go to speak to him. But the point is, in all...

(Sept. 1) -- On a Web site called mysecret.tv, there is the writer who was molested years ago by her baby sitter and who still cannot forgive herself for failing to protect her younger siblings from the same abuse." /> There is the happy father, businessman and churchgoer who is having a sexual relationship with another man in his church. There is the young woman who shot an abusive boyfriend when she was high on methamphetamine.Then there is this entry: “Years ago I asked my father, ‘How does a daddy justify selling his little girl?’ He replied, ‘I needed to...

The dread, damp palms and anxiety may still be there, but Catholic confession has moved out of the dark, creaky booth where a priest listened to penitents and then meted out penalties to every last sinner to show up. The confessional box has largely given way to a lighted room where priest and penitent can gaze into each other’s eyes and have a private conversation about lapses in holy living. That’s especially true in Arizona, where Catholic churches tend to be newer.Or sinners can still anonymously recount their wrongs kneeling behind a screen on a table in a well-lighted room,...

An election Sunday at the 62nd convention of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod at America's Center in downtown St. Louis will decide whether the embattled president of the church will remain in office for another three years. At his installation in September 2001, Gerald B. Kieschnick said he would try to temper internal disputes that some say have thwarted the real work of the church for decades.Link to full story

<p>A handpainted slogan above the entrance to St. Luke Church in Long Valley quotes not the Gospel but the Broadway musical "Oliver!"</p> <p>The lobby features large rocking chairs and a closed-circuit television for nursing mothers who don't want to interrupt Mass, signs for the church's big fund-raiser and for the parish shrink, a local psychologist.</p>

Sunday August 11, 2002 SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose is taking the recently established ``no tolerance'' policy on sexual misconduct to a new level. Bishop Patrick J. McGrath has ordered that windows be placed in all confessionals, allowing others to see inside while parishioners reconcile their sins. The windows have been mandated in all of the diocese's 52 parishes and are to be installed over the coming year. The policy is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, although new and renovated Catholic churches in Europe have windows and glass...

By Aamer Madhani and Julia Lieblich Tribune staff reporters Published May 13, 2002 As legislators in Illinois and elsewhere seek to force Catholic clergy to report allegations of sexual abuse, they are finding the confession booth to be guarded by a thicket of legal, political and theological issues. Last week, the Illinois Senate passed a proposal that would exempt clergy from the reporting requirement if they learn the information in the confessional or while acting as a spiritual adviser. Critics say the exemption is too broad and may render the law meaningless. Across the country, legislatures are wrangling with the...