Statement of the Diocese of Baton Rouge July 5, 2014 A local television station is promoting a story that it plans to air during the coming week. The report will center on a legal case in which the diocese and a diocesan priest have been named as defendants. The case seeks to compel the priest to testify about whether he heard the confession of a particular person and if so what was allegedly communicated during confession. The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held that the long standing rule that communications made during the sacrament of confession are protected by the First Amendment right of freedom to exercise religion. This applies to all religions, not only Catholics. The Louisiana Supreme Court disagreed with that court and ruled that a trial had to be held to decide the issue. A foundational doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church for thousands of years mandates that the seal of confession is absolute and cannot be violated. A priest can never break that seal. Neither is a priest allowed to admit that someone went to confession to him. In this case, the priest has acted appropriately in not testifying about any alleged confessions, following Church law which does not allow it. Because the diocese and the priest see this as an extremely important principle to protect, relief in the federal courts will be sought. The issue will be brought to the Supreme Court of the United States if necessary. A more full statement from the diocese will be posted Monday on the diocesan website.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:16:03 +0000