The Importance of Confession in the Church

Forcing priests to report suspected child abuse that they learn about in the confessional would also have a chilling effect. Confession exists so that anyone, if he genuinely repents, can be forgiven of his sins no matter how grave they may be. If the church is accused of hiding abusers because of this narrow confidentiality privilege, well, then we can say law firms are guilty of hiding abusers when they don't turn in every client suspected of past abuse who confides to his attorney. That's why the law should not require priests to violate the seal of the confessional.