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Seal of confession
The Latest
North Dakota lawmaker withdraws bill requiring violation of seal of confession
A North Dakota bill that would have required priests to violate the seal of confession has been withdrawn by its... Read more
Western Australian legislative committee recommends preserving confessional seal
Religious ministers should not be required to violate the seal of confession to report child sex abuse, a committee of... Read more
Queensland passes law requiring priests to break confessional seal
The legislature of the Australian state of Queensland on Tuesday passed a law requiring priests to violate the seal of... Read more
Holy See upholds confessional seal in response to Australian royal commission
The Australian bishops have provided the federal government with the Holy See’s observations on 12 recommendations of a 2017 report... Read more
Critics: Utah bill on confession would criminalize priests, not counter sex abuse
A Utah legislator’s proposal to remove protections for priests and other clergy who hear confessions of the sexual abuse of... Read more
Montana high court reverses sex abuse judgement against Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Montana Supreme Court has unanimously reversed a $35 million judgement against the Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the grounds that the... Read more
Australia's bishops protest national move to force priests to reveal confessions
Australia’s Catholic bishops support “nationally consistent” reporting standards for the abuse of minors, but cannot support new national legal standards... Read more
Sex abuse scandal leaves Australian Church, gov’t scrambling for solutions
In the wake of a major clergy sex abuse scandal and the high-profile, controversial trial and conviction of sex abuse... Read more
Priests 'cannot comply' with laws that break seal of confession, Tasmania's archbishop says
The leader of Tasmania’s Catholic Church said priests in his archdiocese will not comply with a law that would require... Read more
New Australian law requires priests to break confessional seal
A law passed in the Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday would require priests to violate the seal of confession... Read more
Melbourne archbishop ready to defy law over seal of confession
The Archbishop of Melbourne has said he is prepared to defy a proposed new law that would force priests in... Read more
California confession law dropped
A California bill that would have required priests to violate the seal of confession has been withdrawn by its sponsor... Read more
Seal of confession is an 'intrinsic requirement,' Vatican says
The head of the Vatican’s Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary released a note Monday reaffirming the inviolability of the... Read more
Costa Rica considers bill threatening seal of confession
A bill in Costa Rica would require Catholic priests to violate the seal of confession to report cases of suspected... Read more
'No priest may obey' proposed law, California bishop says
Bishop Michael Barber, S.J., of the Diocese of Oakland, California, has said he would sooner accept arrest and prison than... Read more
California confession bill amended, but still would require priests to violate seal
California’s state senate will vote on a bill that would require priests to violate the seal of confession in certain... Read more
Dominican priest: California confession bill threatens all religions
If California moves forward with its proposed law trying to force priests to violate the seal of Confession, it is... Read more
Pope Francis: 'Sacramental confession is the way of sanctification'
Pope Francis told priests and seminarians Friday that the sacrament of penance is “the way of sanctification” in which miraculous... Read more
California bill would remove reporting exemption for priests in confessional
A state senator in California introduced a bill Wednesday which would seek to force priests to violate the sacramental seal... Read more
Australian bishop protests law requiring priests to break seal of confession
A new law in Australia will require Catholic priests in Canberra to break the seal of confession to report child... Read more
