Distributist Chestertonia wrote:Norstal wrote:I don't give a crap about the rituals. What I do care about is prevention of crime and enforcement of law. You can't enforce the law when there are witnesses obstructing justice. Your argument can only guarantee the protection of religious rituals, but ignores the workings of anything outside that religion.
Right. So if I tell a priest outside of confession, different story. But if you violate my right to speak confidentially to my God as I see fit, and as God sees fit, you are violating a fundamental human right - a right for a man to talk to God as he sees fit.
All that said, I do agree we should crack down on paedophilia. There should, perhaps, be an inquisition into this on a person-to-person basis. I don't mind if the government makes a direct inquisition into priests and other persons who may or may not have committed paedophilia. There are probably better things to be doing with their time and money, but they can.
But just as much as I don't have the right to violate your ability to say what you do about our priests, you do not have the right to violate my ability to say what I wish to God in the confessional.
No one is doing that. Paedophile priests can still seek absolution from God through the confessional. What they can no longer do is use the confessional seal to seek absolution from both God and the secular law. They are no longer going to be allowed to hide their crimes under the skirts of the Church.
I would imagine that priests would be more disgusted at the perversion of the rite of confession as a cover for this most grievous violation, than that they are now required to act to protect the children under their care and spiritual leadership.