California bill targets Catholic priests first, but rights of all religions are at risk

[GURPS]

California is considering a proposed law that is nothing less than an attempt to jail innocent priests. California Senate Bill 360 seeks to change its law to force a priest, when he hears of sins in the confessional regarding sexual abuse, to make a choice. He must choose to either maintain the confidentiality of the sacrament and face possible imprisonment or to betray that confidentiality and violate his deepest conscience and the laws of God and the Roman Catholic Church. No priest I know would choose the latter.

In 1813, the New York Court of General Sessions commented on the Catholic sacrament of confession and the government’s proper role in respecting the secrecy of the confessional as a part of its constitutional duty to protect religious freedom. It said: “To decide that the minister shall promulgate what he receives in confession, is to declare that there shall be no penance; and this important branch of the Roman Catholic religion would be thus annihilated.”


https://www.usatoday.com/story/opin...freedom-catholic-sex-abuse-column/3574921002/

 

[Bird Dog]

No Priest would do that and how would the government know he did? Maybe they’ll set up stings in the Confessional. California shows how stupid they are everyday.

 

[GURPS]

Maybe they’ll set up stings in the Confessional. California shows how stupid they are everyday.

given this is CaliFU the land of progressivism .. I would not be surprised.

 

[Yooper]

No Priest would do that and how would the government know he did? Maybe they’ll set up stings in the Confessional. California shows how stupid they are everyday.

Tin Foil Hat Guy, here (at least that's what I'm sure to be called...).

I don't believe one should think of this as some future hypothetical (or solely a California thing).

Tin foil hat off; now back to the proposed law.

This is similar to what "The Law" expects from medical doctors, mental health counselors, etc. These professionals are NOT required to report all crimes heard in their practices, but child abuse, sexual abuse, and elder abuse are required to be reported in many (most?) localities. I know Maryland (and states similar to Maryland in political outlook) require this.

So advocates will say this is simply adjusting existing law to capture another one of the "helping professions." (I don't think lawyers have to report (but I could be wrong; not my area).)

I'm going to "leave it there" with this comment. It's a complicated situation that involves more than just the invading of the confessional. Unfortunately, though, it also has the consequence of chipping away at religious protections.

--- End of line (MCP)

 

[GURPS]

it also has the consequence of chipping away at religious protections.

Progressives have no care or respect for Christianity and a lesser extent Jews

 

[GURPS]

Church leaders in California suggest that lawmakers are targeting priests and say there is zero evidence that systemic secrecy aided by the confessional is to blame for childhood victimization.

“I find it quite shocking because it’s a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone told Relevant Radio hours before a state Senate hearing in March. “This is unfortunately misperception about what the situation is in the church right now.”

In March, Pope Francis required priests and nuns to report to church authorities any clergy sex abuse and cover-ups by their superiors. This directive came on the heels of a February summit at the Vatican, where bishops worked on developing a framework for the church to adopt to prevent abuse and deal victims’ claims.

But church officials have decried the amended California legislation, saying there is no evidence abusers are revealing these sins in the confessional. (The original bill called for priests to break the seal of confession for all penitent conversations, not just those of fellow clergy or church employees.)

Catholic ‘seal of confession” threatened by California bill

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.

www.washingtontimes.com

 

[GURPS]

The Assault on Religious Freedom Continues: Proposed Bill Would Force Priests to Break Seal of Confession


Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland wrote “Even if this bill passes, no priest may obey it. The protection of your right to confess to God and have your sins forgiven in total privacy must be protected."

Church law and civil law have an uneasy relationship at best. The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion and capital punishment, both of which are legal in the United States, obviously.

Many devout Catholics are steeling themselves for battles over gay marriage they are convinced are inevitable.

The bill's sponsor claims that "clergy-penitent privilege has been abused on a large scale," despite the fact that, according to the article, "no data exists establishing or indicating the use of sacramental confession either to facilitate or perpetuate the sexual abuse of minors."