The Catholic News Agency reported on a proposed law in Arizona to make priests break the seal of confession if they have “reasonable suspicion to believe that (child) abuse is ongoing, will continue, or may be a threat to other minors.” If they fail to do so, it could lead to “class 6 felony charges under the bill. Those charges in Arizona can lead to up to $150,000 in fines and up to two years of imprisonment.”
Apparently similar laws have been proposed in Washington state, Delaware, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Montana, but none have been passed.
The article reminds readers, that “Priests are bound to never divulge what they hear in confession on pain of excommunication” and “multiple priests in Church history have been martyred for refusing to break that seal”.
What do we think about this? Is it not better for a priest to flag up a confession which indicates that children might be at risk? Or would that perhaps discourage abusers from coming forward and confessing what they have done?
Read the article here.