Catholic priests should not have to report child abuse revealed during confession, Vermont bishop says - Why would Catholic priests not want to report kiddy diddling? Truly it's a mystery.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-vermont-catholic-church-opposes-child-abuse-reporting-bill-20230303-fss5a6hfibanhgkwfos5sjtsrq-story.html

Catholic priests should not have to report child abuse revealed durin…

archived 6 Mar 2023 03:18:05 UTC

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The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Vermont told state lawmakers Friday that the church opposes a bill that would remove clergy exemptions for reporting cases of child abuse and neglect to police.

Bishop Christopher Coyne, who has served as the bishop of the Diocese of Burlington since 2015, testified before the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee that the church’s rite of confession must remain confidential — even when cases of child abuse are revealed.

“A priest faces excommunication if he discloses the communication made to him during confession,” Coyne said. “And the sacramental seal of confession is the worldwide law of the Catholic Church, not just the diocese of Burlington, Vermont.”

The Diocese of Burlington serves all 14 counties of the state of Vermont.

According to current state law, members of the clergy are obligated to report abuse and neglect, but it adds an exemption for when they’re acting as spiritual advisers or hearing a confession.

But a bill introduced by state Sen. Richard Sears, a Democrat who has worked for years to fight child abuse, seeks to do away with those exemptions. State lawmakers are currently holding hearings on the proposal before putting it to a vote.

The bill “crosses a Constitutional protective element of our religious faith: the right to worship as we see fit,” Coyne testified Friday.

But he noted that when priests receive any information on child abuse or neglect outside the rite of confession, they are encouraged to report it.

Vermont is one of 33 states with exemptions for clergy in laws trequire some professionals — such as teachers and physicians — to report alleged cases of child sex abuse or neglect to authorities.statutes,” he said.

And while protecting vulnerable children is essential, “disregarding fundamental religious rights is unnecessary,” he added.

Vermont is one of 33 states with exemptions for clergy in laws that require some professionals — such as teachers and physicians — to report alleged cases of child sex abuse or neglect to authorities.

 

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

Confession doesn't exactly mean forgiveness of sin. A man can confess his sins all day, every day, but if he lacks the conviction necessary to repent of what he did, then confession won't benefit him in any way. So, I don't see how preserving a priest's ability to withhold information offered in confession does anything, save preserve the priest's sense of conscience.

 

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

I’m conflicted since it erodes the right to privileged conversations. I no longer doubt the existence of slippery slope.

It’s an odd thing because most priests I’ve met basically say that the thing is so that people can work through a guilty conscience, if you just fucking blab about anything then it doesn’t mean shit. The only story I ever heard where a priest kinda told people was him saying “Yeah, _____ hasn’t gone to confession in a loooooooong time” and then left pregnant pauses. Then the guy stopped going because he was refused communion because he didn’t go to confession. Later, his brother finds out he!: beating his wife and beat the shit out of his brother.
If the Church is functioning as it should then the community picks up that something is going on.

I’m against basically any erosion of rights under the guise of the government trying to help kids. The Waco kids Barbecue showed how laughable that is.

 

[870EVO]

Here we go again Moth. Do you just want attention?

 

[derpherp2]

I’m conflicted since it erodes the right to privileged conversations. I no longer doubt the existence of slippery slope.

It’s an odd thing because most priests I’ve met basically say that the thing is so that people can work through a guilty conscience, if you just fucking blab about anything then it doesn’t mean shit. The only story I ever heard where a priest kinda told people was him saying “Yeah, _____ hasn’t gone to confession in a loooooooong time” and then left pregnant pauses. Then the guy stopped going because he was refused communion because he didn’t go to confession. Later, his brother finds out he!: beating his wife and beat the shit out of his brother.
If the Church is functioning as it should then the community picks up that something is going on.

I’m against basically any erosion of rights under the guise of the government trying to help kids. The Waco kids Barbecue showed how laughable that is.

There's also the hassle of legislating and enforcing new laws, the whole seperation of church and state being fucked over due to changing this paradigm in the worst way possible - implying the person advocating for said change is a retard, the sheer GIRTH of studies showing how this method doesn't work and might even make things worse (ie. see Chris Hansen's bullshit as a case study - "confessions" are worth shit in the court of law), and how OP is doing this hypothetical because, to summarize:

 

[Skeletonized Cow]

Confession doesn't exactly mean forgiveness of sin. A man can confess his sins all day, every day, but if he lacks the conviction necessary to repent of what he did, then confession won't benefit him in any way. So, I don't see how preserving a priest's ability to withhold information offered in confession does anything, save preserve the priest's sense of conscience.

The big problem, which seems to go dramatically understated here and elsewhere, is that when you're enforcing mandatory reporting by an untrained professional (e.g. not a psychologist, doctor, etc.), they're prone to be far, far less accurate reports. Additionally, since mandatory reporters can be legally punished for not reporting, this encourages reporting on even potentially spurious situations. Already the child protective services in this country are overwhelmed with reports, upwards of 30 false/inconclusive reports to 1 good one. Adding more onto this is almost certainly going to be a problem.

That's not to mention the fact that there are plenty of "false negatives" with mandatory reporting, where the report is ignored/brushed off, but still interferes enough with the abuse situation to make things worse. There's unfortunately some evidence (albeit in cases of partner abuse) to indicate that this might be the most common outcome of mandatory reporting. Overall, IMO, the situation should be left up to the good conscious of the priests on when to interfere, not on a potentially overclocked and paranoid suspicion of when to report.

 

[Vesperus]

Why would they confess if they don't think it's wrong?

But on the off chance they do, I'll repeat what I said in the other thread - give the priest a .45 to send them on their way.

Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.

 

[TEA 3HF]

Papist faggots continue raping children. Papists do nothing to remedy the situation. News at 11.

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

This seems more of a Vermont thing tbh

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

It's like watching dogs return to their vomit at this point.

 

[Skeletonized Cow]

This seems more of a Vermont thing tbh

Nah, Vermont is probably going to mandate the reporting so that they can give the abuser kudos.

 

[Cyborg Braphog]

I dunno, I think Catholic priests should basically be an arm of the judiciary and the mental health services because that's what separation of church and state means to me.

 

[Zero Day Defense]

This BPD episode has gone on long enough

 

[Skeletonized Cow]

This BPD episode has gone on long enough

No it hasn't, it's still funny.

 

[Cyborg Braphog]

This BPD episode has gone on long enough

Not until somebody ends up in the hospital with superficial scratches all over their inner arms.

 

[barbieQ]

The whole situation seems like it could go in a lot of different ways.

If someone comes to confession and admits they've been abusing a child, I imagine most peoples initial thought is "Yea, they should be reported." and I agree with that, but is the reporting also mandatory if someone confides in a priest and says they're being abused? A lot of people feel guilty about being sexually assaulted and that could be something a particularly religious person could feel like they need to repent for, and then that opens the door to an already traumatized child having to deal with police and child services and all that shit.

Idk, I'm not religious enough to know about confessional confidentiality, but in the end my thoughts are always going to be with the children affected.

 

[Mothra1988]

but in the end my thoughts are always going to be with the children affected.

It would be great if child victims could be given the first priority, but look at the history of the Catholic Church.

 

[derpherp2]

It would be great if child victims could be given the first priority, but look at the history of the Catholic Church.

By all means enlighten everyone on the history.
I'm actually curious. But probably not in the way you think.

 

[Mothra1988]

By all means enlighten everyone on the history.
I'm actually curious. But probably not in the way you think.

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[derpherp2]

View attachment 4709112

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I said tell me the history. Not show me a wikipedia article.
The point is to show what YOU know. Genius.

Also here if you're going to be lazy: https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=You're+an+autistic+retard
But thanks for showing your lack of actual knowledge. So soon.