Vatican criticises bid to break privacy of Confession

2nd July 2019

The Vatican has hit back at growing pressure from secular authorities in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere to force Catholic priests report evidence of child sex abuse they hear in Confession, saying the seal of confidentiality cannot be violated and there is no scope for compromise or exemptions.

“Every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him,” the Vatican said Monday, quoting the Catechism, a compendium of Catholic doctrine.

The document also stated that a priest could truthfully deny, even under oath, knowing the contents of a confession given to him “because he did not listen to (the penitent) as a man but, precisely, in the name of God.”