Baton Rouge, La., Nov 1, 2016 / 14:08 pm
Catholic priests do not have to break the seal of Confession to report the alleged abuse of minors, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
The Diocese of Baton Rouge, at the center of the case, responded that they were "very pleased" with the court's Oct. 28 opinion, "which affirms the sanctity of the Sacrament of Reconciliation."
The case of Fr. Jeff Bayhi, a priest of the Baton Rouge diocese, made national news after he was sued for not reporting the alleged sexual abuse of a child to authorities. The woman who said she was abused, Rebecca Mayeux, claimed that in 2008, when she was a minor, she told Fr. Bayhi during Confession that she had been abused by someone at his parish.
In 2009, she sued the now-deceased parishioner, the diocese, as well as Fr. Bayhi for allegedly knowing about the abuse but not reporting it under the state's mandatory reporting law.