Free Republic

VATICAN CITY — The secrecy of a confession is maintained so seriously and completely by the Catholic Church that a priest would be excommunicated for revealing the contents of a confession when ordered to testify by a court or even after the penitent dies, Vatican officials said.“No confessor can be dispensed from it, even if he would want to reveal the contents of a confession in order to prevent a serious and imminent evil,” said Msgr. Krzysztof Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with matters of conscience.The penitentiary sponsored a conference at the Vatican Nov. 12-13...

Q: I know that priests aren’t allowed to reveal what people tell them in confession. But what happens in places where reporting sexual abuse of children is mandated by law? They’re talking about making it a legal requirement now in Australia, just like they did in Ireland. Will priests really have to go to jail, rather than reveal the identity of a penitent to the police? –Lauren A: Readers from “down under” are no doubt keenly aware that last fall, Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the formation of a federal Royal Commission to investigate child sexual abuse. One stated...