A new law in Washington State now obliges priests to report sexual-abuse sins heard in confession, although there’s absolutely NO EVIDENCE it will protect children. Please, sign and send your Crusade for Confession protest message to Washington Governor, Bob Ferguson, and to members of the Washington House and Senate today.
It’s really urgent that you do! Because once the Seal is broken, the sacrament of confession is gone forever. And that’s what the enemies of the Church really want! The new law removes the priest-penitent privilege. According to reports:
“Citing his alleged Catholic faith, Washington’s leftist Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill today that orders priests to divulge when they hear of purported abuse in the confessional – or face potential jail time.
“The governor also cited his uncle, a Jesuit priest, when signing the bill.”
(Source: LifeSiteNews .com)
This means the sacred trust we have in the Seal of Confession — regardless of the sin — is shattered, destroying trust in the Sacrament. Now that the Seal of Confession is broken in Washington, the old “domino effect” will set in, prompting other states to crash the confessional too.
If you’re like me, you won’t just sit around and do nothing as confession is destroyed and the Church is threatened with becoming a puppet of the State. You and I must not let them shatter our trust in confession. Nor let them strangle our Church.
No matter what, the Seal of Confession is absolute. It’s between the priest, the penitent and God. The state has absolutely NO SAY in the confidentiality of Confession.
And that’s the only way it could be!
Protecting children or pillaging the Church?
You may have noticed that state legislators are using the protection of our children as an excuse to attack the Church. But you and I see their game. We know the “Seal of Confession vs. safety of children” is a false dilemma.
State legislators pretend to protect our children by pillaging our Church. They propose to save our children by stealing our confessional — which is a way to harm you and me and every Catholic in America. And I’m talking about millions of Catholics!
As Saint Jacinta Marto of Fatima said: “Confession is a sacrament of mercy. Therefore, one must approach the confessional with confidence and joy. Without confession there is no salvation.”
But how can sinners confess with confidence and joy if they know the priest will report their sin to the state? Only a serious Catholic like you with a burning love for the Church can see why it is so very important to protect the sacrament of confession from the interference of the state. It is our mission to make sure this new law is repealed in Washington.
That’s why I again urge you to sign and send your Crusade for Confession protest message to Washington Governor, Bob Ferguson, and to members of the Washington House and Senate today.
The Catholic clergy of Washington are NOT obliged to obey this new law. As Saint Thomas Aquinas says, an unjust law is essentially no law at all. It does not have the force of law and does not oblige people to obey it. Plus, the Code of Canon Law strictly forbids priests from violating the seal of confession, and violations can result in excommunication: The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason. (Can. 983 §1.)