LOUISIANA
St. Louis Review

SUBMITTED ON JULY 16, 2014

Last week Catholic news organizations, including the St. Louis Review, published a troubling story about the Louisiana Supreme Court attempting to compel a priest to break the seal of confession.

At issue was a lawsuit filed by the parents of a girl who claimed that, in 2008 at the age of 14, she told a priest that she had been abused by a now-deceased parishioner. The parents claim that the priest was negligent in not reporting the abuse. The girl claimed she told the priest of this in the confessional.

Louisiana’s mandatory reporter law provides an exception for members of clergy who receive reports in confidential communication, such as confession. And under canon law, a priest may not, under any circumstances, reveal anything about a confession to anyone. Not what was confessed. Not who confessed. Not ever. To violate the…