Now Issy, if we throw ya on the rack, me thinks we'll have ya confessn' to all ya sins including some ya didn't even know ya committed. Hows that! It's most effective at gettn' the truth out of the guilty! I can tell ya, works every time!

The ungodly here, struggle with the concept of confession.
The Priest, etc acts as Christ in hearing the confession. So therefore, for that moment listening to the confession, he is considered in a metaphysical state of being. Not human.
That's the basis of his freedom from responsibility towards the world and its dictates.

Demanding a priest etc, to spill the beans to the local plods, is not reasonable, and lacks understanding of the holy mans position.

So he should not be put into this invidious position, with unreasonable demands.

The church however, could assist the process of clarity, by abandoning the secret confessional, and forming a period for confession in public during a normal service of the day.

There is a precedent for this situation in the past history of the Catholic Church.

Dan

Christianity has been persecuted for 2,000 years. Catholics in particular are used to witch hunts, which are increasing with neo-Marxist hatred. I'm confident that they will be able to handle this latest assault.

Dear Diver Dan,

So a school counselor who learns through one of their confidential sessions with a student that the student is being abused, even though they swear it is consensual and that they love the teacher in question, should not be forced through law to report the abuse?

SR

Read what I said. There is no comparison between a priest performing in confessional, and a school councillor.

A priest is in a metaphysical state of being, (according to his religious belief system).
No comparison.
But to use your example, say your son Ao daughter confessed privately to you they sexually abused a child, would you report them to the plods?

That is a more fitting example, suitable to the logic of your argument.

My feelings on his are also stated above. The Church should, in my opinion, make moves to abandon secret confessionals.
They are now divisive in the view of our community, and Christ would not stand idly by creating division when there are simple alternatives that would defuse the situation.

Many differing Christian congregations deal with confessions in a more open way.
Evangelicals for example, often make public confession of past sins, an example of the power of Christ in their life to overcome sin and change themselves for the better.

Catholics have many examples of alternatives to secrecy in front of them.
I consider their lack of cooperation on this subject to be arrogant.

Dan

Steele,

A lot depends on the age and sex of the student and teacher; if the student is male and the teacher female then most of us would have liked to be abused in like circumstances.

Dan,

The Catholic Church already has General Confession where there is no one to one with a priest, in the case of the law which we are discussing there is nowt to stop the Church from using General Absolution/Confession and laughing at the petty lawmakers.
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33707
"The term has two different meanings, both referring to the reception of the sacrament of penance. Most commonly, it means a private confession where the penitent (exceptionally) resolves to confess as far as he or she can all past sins, and not only those since the last confession. The practice is recommended when a person is entering on a new state of life -- the priesthood, religious life, or marriage -- and is required in some religious institutes by rule to be done annually. Less often, general confession is associated with the granting of general absolution. When general absolution may be validly given, the provision for general confession is that "the penitents who wish to receive absolution" are invited "to indicate this by some kind of sign." The penitents then say a general formula for confession, for example, "I confess to almighty God." However, one of the necessary dispositions for receiving valid absolution, when only a general confession was made, is that the penitent "resolve to confess in due time each one of the grave sins which he cannot confess at present."

Paul,

Give it up, there might be truth in the blindness warning.