Hi AC

I accept that there are very important differences between lawyers and priests; my main point was that we allow some exceptions to the rule that we should report to authorities when we know the perpetrator of a crime.

And priests have many roles. The job of a priest includes helping to secure repentance and forgiveness, and to save the souls of sinners. It is not actually the priest who achieves this, it is God, but in In Roman Catholicism the priest is an intermediary. That is part of the reason they insist on the sanctity of the confessional. One analogy is that the priest is eavesdropping on a conversation between the sinner and God, in order to translate God’s response to the sinner.

I fully appreciate how weird this can seem to someone who is not religious (or even to and Anglican like me who confesses their sins directly to God without needing a “translator”). The logic of religions can sometimes seem perverse, ridiculous or malign to outsiders because it is based on assumptions, priorities and sources of authority they don’t share. That is why I think there needs to be some protection for freedom of religion, but also why that cannot be absolute. We need thoughtful conversations around areas where religious and secular values clash.

HI Rhian,
Thanks for taking the time to explain, I think I understand it a little better now.
FYI, I had no real concerns or objections to your other examples.
I thought those positions were reasonable, and would likely agree with all of them.

Hi Rhian,

In the scenario where one Catholic Priest confesses to another Catholic priest in the confessional that this month he sexually abused 2 choir boys, and the confessional priest give him absolution. Then next month the same priests returns and confesses he has this month sexually abused 3 choir boys, and again the confessional priest gives him absolution. For a third month the same priest returns and confesses he has sexually abused 4 choir boys this month. The confessional priest instead of giving him absolution says; : "Fr Fookemup, you must do better, that's a disgrace, don't you know us priest have a monthly quota of 10 choir boy! You're letting the side down, life your game!"

Religions are a little bit like loving relationships.
- Sometimes they aren't so loving, but are harmful, and even fatal.

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Dear Rhian,

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You wrote :

« The job of a priest includes helping to secure repentance and forgiveness, and to save the souls of sinners. It is not actually the priest who achieves this, it is God, but in In Roman Catholicism the priest is an intermediary. »

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This may seem like splitting hairs, Rhian, but I think the distinction is important. To the best of my knowledge, nobody in this great wide world has, to this day, proven beyond all reasonable doubt, that there is a God or gods.

Therefore, until proven otherwise, God must be recognized as a belief, not a reality.

That being the case, as the word intermediary means “one who acts between others; an intermediate agent; a go-between, middleman, mediator” (OED definition), instead of writing “ … In Roman Catholicism the priest is an intermediary”, one should write :

« … In Roman Catholicism, the priest is believed (thought, said, imagined, conceived) to be an intermediary. »

He can only be considered an intermediary if there really is a God, and until that has been clearly established, he (the priest) is “preaching in the wilderness,” as it were.

Sorry for being a bit pedantic, Rhian, but I find that religious zealots all too often confound their religious beliefs with reality and present their desires, suppositions, and opinions as established facts.

I find this at best erroneous, negligent, improper, or lackadaisical, and at worst dishonest.

I consider that those of us who have the good fortune of living in the free world have nothing to fear in recognizing the true nature of our thoughts, beliefs, and opinions and should make sure we express them with due diligence and precision.

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" To the best of my knowledge, nobody in this great wide world has, to this day, proven beyond all reasonable doubt, that there is a God or gods."

Nor has anyone proven beyond all reasonable doubt that there ISN'T a deity.

Believe what you want, let the other guy move on unimpeded. That's what freedom is about