Montana Democrats Want Priests to Report Confessions of Child Abuse

Montana Democrats want to require priests to report confessions of child abuse

Jan. 27, 2025

From: The Friendly Atheist

Seven Democratic lawmakers in Montana have filed a bill that would require clergy members to report child abuse to law enforcement authorities if they happen to learn about it through the act of confession. 

As it stands, if someone walks into a confessional booth and admits to molesting a child, the priest doesn’t have to do anything with that information. Just say a couple of Hail Marys and be done with it. 

Compare that to doctors, social workers, or public school teachers, who are required by law to file a report if they learn about, or suspect, a child being abused.

Why won’t religious leaders agree to report suspected abusers? In the Catholic Church, Vatican officials have long claimed that the “seal of confession” is sacrosanct. Anything said in a confessional booth must be kept secret no matter what. If there’s any potential that the “clergy-penitent privilege” might be broken—and that certain confessions may be used as evidence against the confessor—it could destroy the very nature of the sacrament.