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

(page 3) 50 comments
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[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 days ago

I was really hoping they'd be refusing to comply with unjust laws. If they wanted ways to look like the good guys, these days we've got plenty.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The worlds largest pedophile ring doing gods work I guess.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago

Agreed its a cancer on humanity. Fake ass shit.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago

Geez... I never thought I would see so much support for religious bullshit on this site. I'd rather see fewer children harmed than preserve the "sanctity" of confession, and every excommunicated priest is a priest with actual integrity.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The Catholic church is hardly going to allow priests to be forced to go to the police and admit crimes.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (11 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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah religion is a great cover for abusing kids.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (5 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.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Therapists are allowed to maintain confidentiality.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (8 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

A larger problem addressed by bills just like this.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Exceptions exist, like when practices are outright criminal in themselves

Aiding and abetting criminals is a crime.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Cool, break that down for us.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days 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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (4 children)

How does receiving a confession aid or abet the perpetrator?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (6 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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days 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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What if the priest doest't provide emotional support

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days 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?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days 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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Typical lemmy, finding X abhorrent*.

^*for child-rape values of X^

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Mixed feelings

Obviously the clergy have absolute values which they believe come from god, so obviously they're not equipped to make exceptions such as this as individuals. You would have to appeal the to pope and cardinals directly to change the rules.

How does the state intend to enforce this? Is there a priest registry in washington state, and does it account for all recognized religions for tax purposes? Are they going to take away peoples license to preach?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

During the investigation of child sexual abuse, if the perpetrator is a Catholic, they'll ask if the abuser confessed. If so, the priest is liable to be prosecuted.

Honestly, my biggest problem with the law is how unlikely it is to ever be prosecuted. Proving that an abuser confessed would be impossible. They are infringing on the First Amendment and ensuring that no abuser ever talks to their priest, but in practice priests probably won't follow the law and if they don't the state is unlikely to actually enforce the law.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

If they only ask Catholics that sounds like it also infringes freedom of religion first amendment rights. They either have to ask every perp which church/temple/mosque/etc they go to and if they ever told a clergy member or none of the perps.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Aiding child abuse isnt a first amendment right. You are only allowed freedom to practice religion and the government can't force you to practice anything else. Confession isn't protected by this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

This is wildly outside of the mainstream interpretation of the first amendment. Whether the law would be upheld by the court is basically a toss up.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Bro it's breaking Catholic canon. They can change that shit that's what the Pope is for.

Maybe God would be chill with revealing child abuse even if it comes from confession. Just carve a little exception out there. Crazy that the clergy would rather protect pedophiles than reinterpreting some doctrine.

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