California bill would require Catholic priests to report child sex abuse revealed in confession

I can't say I'm surprised to see this, especially from the Peoples' Democratic Republic of California. But I'm certainly horrified. If this goes through, where will it lead?

California state lawmakers are introducing a bill that would strip priests of their legal protection for the Catholic Church's sacrament of confession when it comes to child sexual abuse.

The "Removing Clergy Exemption from Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting" bill, introduced Wednesday by Democratic State Sen.Jerry Hill, removes an exemption in the state's "mandated reporter" law that allows all members of the clergy to withhold knowledge of suspected child abuse from law enforcement if that information is obtained during a "penitential communication," such as Catholic confession.

Priests are just one category of professionals required by state law to notify law enforcement about suspected abuse, but unlike teachers and therapists, clergy members have an exception if they learn about the suspected abuse during confession.

"The law should apply equally to all professionals who have been designated as mandated reporters of these crimes — with no exceptions, period," Hill said in a statement. "The exemption for clergy only protects the abuser and places children at further risk."

Oh, sure. The children. It's always "for the children." But it won't stop there.

This comes as Catholic bishops from around the world are meeting at the Vatican in an effort to put an end to the problem of clergy sexual abuse.

The Golden State will be debating the right to private penance versus a desire to protect children, as both sides make their moral arguments.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced an investigation into clergy sex abuse, calling for victims to come forward.

The California Catholic Conference came out against the proposed legislation.

"Inserting government into the Confessional does nothing to protect children and everything to erode the fundamental constitutional rights and liberties we enjoy as Americans,” Steve Pehanich, director of communications and advocacy for the California Catholic Conference, told the Los Angeles Times.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, the seal of confession is considered sacred and"any priest who directly betrays a penitent would incur an immediate and automatic excommunication."

Read it all here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-bill-would-require-catholic-priests-to-report-child-sex-abuse-revealed-in-confession

1 They just keep pushing and pushing and pushing. I hate to point it out, but freedom of religion is written into the Constitution but there is no mention of child sex abuse. We apply the basics of the Constitution to the individual states, so religious freedom trumps any state law. Just because it is well intentioned doesn't matter.

I wonder what the Left would say about a return to ant-sodomy laws?  They'd fight that with tooth and nail but are happy to overturn a Constitutionally protected right, because they hate religion and want to destroy it.

They are such huge hypocrites.