LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune
By Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on July 10, 2014
The Louisiana Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that could compel a Baton Rouge Catholic priest to testify whether or not he received confessions during the sacrament of reconciliation from a minor child in 2009 regarding sexual abuse she says she endured by a fellow parishioner.
The lawsuit, filed by the girl’s family, claims the priest and the Baton Rouge Catholic Diocese are liable for civil damages for the suffering caused by the sexual abuse because of their role in failing to properly adviser her and the priest’s failure to report the abuse as a mandatory reporter in accordance with the Louisiana Children’s Code.
The church says the ruling violates religious freedoms set forth in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, noting the priest could be excommunicated for violating the seal of confession. The Supreme Court ruled the confessions weren’t “confidential communication,” which would have exempted the priest from mandatory reporting laws, because the confessor waived her confidentiality privilege.
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