Posted on 03/09/2023 1:31:44 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Delaware General Assembly is considering a bill that would require Roman Catholic priests to break the seal of confession to report child abuse and neglect, prompting condemnation from the Diocese of Wilmington.
House Bill 74, the sponsors of which include state Senate President Pro Tempore David P. Sokola, could be heard before the House Judiciary Committee within weeks, according to OSV News.
The Diocese of Wilmington condemned the proposed law, noting that priests are bound by the sacrament of reconciliation from breaking the seal of confession, according to the outlet. Catholic canon law mandates that a priest who violates the seal of confession is automatically excommunicated.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
That could be due to Hispanic Catholics.
“But you played a trick. Future actions are not the same thing as telling your attorney something you already did. Is it?”
Well, the post I replied to already lumped in different categories of people with different reporting rules. I didn’t “play a trick”, I made a pretty general reply to a pretty general comment.
And child abuse and neglect aren’t generally “something you already did”. They are almost always a recurring situation. That’s why we have mandatory reporting laws, so there is no “wiggle room” for people to excuse their failure to report and allow the abuse to continue.
So where does Delaware stand on keeping a child’s supposed gender identity from parents? Seems if you are going to demand priest break a confessional you can’t require teachers to keep confidences.
You realize confessions are anonymous right? What secret is there to keep? This law will do nothing to bring child abusers to justice.
Okay. One would think a thinking priest would also be morally bound. If I were a priest and somebody told me they murdered someone, I’d report them.
I asked you a question. You dodged it.
Tells me a lot ...
“I asked you a question. You dodged it.”
You asked a loaded question. Intelligent people don’t answer those, so yes, it should tell you something.
“You realize confessions are anonymous right? What secret is there to keep?”
I’m sorry, but that’s just naive. If you don’t think a priest can figure out who is on the other side of that flimsy little barrier, then I have a few bridges you would probably be interested in buying.
Not to mention that priests will invoke the seal of the confessional even if someone confesses something to them face-to-face where they know exactly who is confessing. So the claim of anonymity in that case is null.
“This law will do nothing to bring child abusers to justice.”
Then there’s nothing for the church to complain about, is there?
Those proposing or supporting this bill are on the side of Caligula.
Those opposing it are on the side of the Early Church Fathers.
There’s really no room for ambiguity here, particularly in a country which Constitutionally protects the free exercise of religion.
Yet you dodged the question. That’s not intelligent, it’s slimy.
You needn’t bother responding at this point ... you’ve already given your answer.
“If I were a priest and somebody told me they murdered someone, I’d report them.”
I’m afraid you probably wouldn’t be a priest for very long.
“Those proposing or supporting this bill are on the side of Caligula.
Those opposing it are on the side of the Early Church Fathers.”
That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. However, when you put those presuppositions of yours into the form of a question, you just create a loaded question.
I guess I’d have to get married and have kids. I skipped the defrocked part and went right into that.
I could pretend to be a priest and get all those Catholic serial killers to confess to me though. Will prove my theory of serial killers and cruises.
Will be a good short story I’ll write.
Of course they should complain, it does nothing to further justice but is a gross intrusion of the government into religious matters. If this law goes thru than confessors are unlikely to confess to such crimes during confession anyway, so whats the point? This law isn’t about catching child abusers, its about the government injecting itself into private religious matters and intentionally harassing the Catholic Church.
“This law isn’t about catching child abusers, its about the government injecting itself into private religious matters and intentionally harassing the Catholic Church.”
Technically they would be harassing any religious group that tries to keep criminal confessions confidential. Not the government’s fault if the Catholics are the only ones doing it.
As soon as they pass a law like this then no one will confess anything. So it negates the purpose of the entire law. At least the way it is there is a chance that a bad person might be influenced to stop bad behavior by getting help from the church.
Priest might think he's vaguely familiar, but unless the person is involved in church activities, the priest is unlikely to know his name or details about him. Not in a church where hundreds may attend Mass.
And if this passes I guarantee to you that Catholics who have weighty sins will go to confession somewhere other than their home parish.
What other religion offers confession as a sacrament? Outside of a confessional if someone admits to such a crime it would be reported to the police just like it would be anywhere else. This law is directed specific to Catholics and as such could be taken to court as a violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.
It's 'hearsay' at best.
“What other religion offers confession as a sacrament?”
Who cares?
If it’s illegal to smoke marijuana, and the Rastafarians are the only ones who consider smoking marijuana to be a sacrament, then laws against smoking marijuana are not “targeting Rastafarians” just because no other religion decides to flout that particular law. That’s poor logic.
“Priest might think he’s vaguely familiar, but unless the person is involved in church activities, the priest is unlikely to know his name or details about him”
So then there’s nothing for him to report and the law does nothing. So what’s the big deal? Why complain?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.