The proposal, advanced by a centrist group led by the former prime minister Gabriel Attal, formed part of a wider response to allegations of historic abuse.
The text said ministers of religion would not be exempt from mandatory reporting obligations, even for information received “in the exercise of their ministry”, and that no appeal to the seal of confession could override this duty.
The French Bishops’ Conference expressed “grave concern”, arguing that the measure would infringe freedom of conscience and religious liberty while failing to address the real causes of abuse.
The seal of confession, codified since the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 and upheld as inviolable under Canon Law, carries automatic excommunication for any priest who violates it. French bishops have repeatedly affirmed their commitment to child protection and co-operation with civil authorities on all matters outside the confessional, while insisting that the sacrament itself remains a privileged space of encounter with divine mercy.
