National Catholic Register News
https://www.ncregister.com/tag/seal-of-confession
Bishop Oscar Solis of the Diocese of Salt Lake City is urging lawmakers to protect the seal of confession when considering legislation that would change sex-abuse-reporting laws when the reporter is a member of clergy.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER: The Eucharist draws us into the life of God and pushes us to engage with the world, presenting opportunities — and tensions — with civil authorities.
‘The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane,’ said Bishop Thomas Daly. The Washington State Catholic Conference is working with lawmakers to craft a bill that protects children and the seal of confession.
Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee has stripped one of his priests of the faculty to hear confessions following the clergyman’s public support for civil laws mandating that priests break the seal of confession for sins of sexual abuse.
The legislation prompted criticism from the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.
According to the senator who plans to introduce the legislation, the proposal ‘tries to make clear there [will be] no confidentiality’ exception, regardless of the context in which the clergy member becomes aware of the information.
Vatican News noted that the bishops’ conference statement described Darmanin’s request as an “invitation,” rather than a “summons,” as it has been widely described in media reports.
Both of North Dakota’s bishops had previously written letters to Catholics saying that the state’s bill violated religious freedom.
Multiple priests wrote to tell the committee that they would not violate the seal of confession, and numerous priests pointed out that the law would be unenforceable, as confessions are usually made anonymously.
Archbishop Coleridge has said the law would make priests “less a servant of God than an agent of the state” and raise “major questions about religious freedom.”
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