this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated.

https://www.newsweek.com/catholic-church-excommunicate-priests-following-new-us-state-law-2069039

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[–] TheRealKuni@midwest.social 19 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

Separation of church and state goes both ways.

Confession is a religious rite. Try to legislate that rite is a violation of that separation.

Priests are bound by their office to maintain absolute confidentiality of confessed sins. Otherwise people are not likely to confess their sins.

It doesn’t matter how you, personally, feel about this or their religion or the value of confession as a sacrament, that’s their religion. The state doesn’t get to intervene.

The church should stay out of state affairs, and the state should stay out of church affairs. Exceptions exist, like when practices are outright criminal in themselves. But the state cannot compel a priest to violate their office. This is long accepted. You cannot compel a priest to testify about confession, for example.

Priests can encourage people to go to the police, but that’s it. Their role in confession is between the sinner and their god.

[–] kevin2107@lemmy.world 9 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

This is disgusting, doctors need to report the same thing. Its child abuse its basically saying you support pedofilia. Unless that's what you're covering up in your thinly veiled argument. The Catholic church should not be a safe haven for pedophiles.

[–] TheRealKuni@midwest.social 4 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

This is disgusting, doctors need to report the same thing.

Doctors are not religious figures. Doctor patient confidentiality is not an absolute protected by the first amendment (with legal precedent).

Its child abuse its basically saying you support pedofilia. Unless that's what you're covering up in your thinly veiled argument.

That’s a nice false equivalence. I’m impressed that you managed to get from “priests cannot be compelled by the state to violate their religious office” to supporting pedophilia.

The Catholic church should not be a safe haven for pedophiles.

I agree. That’s a larger problem though.

[–] kevin2107@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

A larger problem addressed by bills just like this.

[–] OccamsRazer@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Therapists are allowed to maintain confidentiality.

[–] erin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Is this true? I thought with things like danger to oneself or others they're mandated reporters.

[–] kevin2107@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

You're right, that commenter doesn't know what they're talking about

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

That's an interesting point. Maybe priests should have similar requirements, licensing, oversight, and malpractice liability.

[–] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah religion is a great cover for abusing kids.

[–] phx@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

This isn't about priests abusing kids (though that's definitely a recurring issue as well), it's about people who have done so confessing such to a priest.

I'm not religious so don't really have any stake in this, but it's interesting that it is specifically about child sex abuse and not other major crimes such as rape, murder etc. That makes me worried as "for children" is often used as a testing ground for stuff that will be expanded upon later, and there's a lot of stuff people likely confess - supposedly under strict confidence - to their religious figures.

[–] Squirrelanna@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 53 seconds ago

Confession is about reconciliation with god and anyone that comes to ask forgiveness from their deity should be willing to make it right with the people they hurt by taking responsibility and accepting the consequences in a tangible way rather than thoughts and prayers.

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

Exceptions exist, like when practices are outright criminal in themselves

Aiding and abetting criminals is a crime.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago (4 children)

How does receiving a confession aid or abet the perpetrator?

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 11 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

You're right, having done some light wikipedia-ing, emotional support such that a priest provides would make him an accessory.

Psychiatrists are legally obligated to report knowledge of certain crimes that would otherwise be protected by confidentiality laws, I don't see why priests should be any different.

[–] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 3 points 2 hours ago

Psychiatrists

Thank you, this was the comparison I was looking for and the standard I would hold for this. I agree with your assessment.

[–] dullbananas@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

What if the priest doest't provide emotional support

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Then they won't know about the crime to begin with. The very act of listening to the confession and advising spiritual penance provides emotional support.

[–] LogicalFallacy@lemm.ee 11 points 4 hours ago

«Bless me father for I have sinned: I have a sex slave in my basement. I rape him every day because I cannot control myself."

You don't report that and you're siding the continue commission of a crime.

Overall you're right about the first amendment, but it feels like that separating only goes one way, and I'm tired of religion getting the better side of it.

It's also so selective. I can't kill a live chicken to practice Santeria but it's fine for orthodox jews on Kaporos? We can't compel a priest to report a murder or testify but they can tell their constituents to vote for the candidate that bans women's healthcare?

[–] kevin2107@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

If a child says my dad touches me at night and you do nothing you belong in jail

[–] Woht24@lemmy.world 0 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

It doesn't, there's just stupid people out there who find X so abhorrent that can't possibly have a rational thought regarding it.

But you've been on Lemmy before, so I'm sure you know all about it.

[–] humorlessrepost@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Typical lemmy, finding X abhorrent*.

^*for child-rape values of X^

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 1 points 59 minutes ago

I wouldn't know, I don't have an X account

[–] Woht24@lemmy.world -1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Cool, break that down for us.

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

I was wrong, the priest is an accessory to the crime.

In the United States, a person who learns of the crime and gives some form of assistance before the crime is committed is known as an "accessory before the fact". A person who learns of the crime after it is committed and helps the criminal to conceal it, or aids the criminal in escaping, or simply fails to report the crime, is known as an "accessory after the fact". A person who does both is sometimes referred to as an "accessory before and after the fact", but this usage is less common.

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

You know what that's fair. This is the "just" thing to do.
I still do hope priests will try to fix it in their own communities tho.