Comment on Pope Leo XIV dislikes AI, won’t authorise creation of AI Pope—"If we automate the whole world and only a few people have the means with which to more than just survive"~ there’s a big problem

• EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The seal of confession is protected by the first amendment as it’s a core tenant of the Catholic religion, and the U.S. government doesn’t have the authority to change religious doctrine of a religion that predates the country by millennia. If you were to violate the constitutional rights of these priests, you wouldn’t catch any more child abusers, you’d just be jailing people for their faith.

  Also, the seal of confession is not “protecting people”. The church isn’t going to defend a child abuser, nor protect them. There is nothing to stop clergy from reporting child abusers to the authorities. It only protects speech shared during the sacrament of confession. If a priest were to find out that somebody is an abuser in any way other than through confession, they would report it the same as anyone else.

  source

  • onslaught545@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    If a child rapist tells a priest in confession, “I’ve raped a child and I’m going to do it again,” and the priest tells no one, that’s protecting a child rapist.

    I don’t think your religious beliefs are a valid excuse to put others in harms way. If a therapist is a mandatory reporter, then a priest should be too.

    source

    • EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

      A child rapist wouldn’t say that in confession. Confession is a sacrament where you confess your sins with regret, for the purpose of earning forgiveness. If somebody was not only not remorseful for what they’ve done, but are already determined to continue in the future… why would they be at confession? Your example makes no sense.

      Putting aside the total lack of reason and sense in your hypothetical question, you’re asking what would happen if a criminal went into a confessional booth not to engage with the sacrament of confession, but to brag to a priest about a crime that they committed and boast that they’re planning to do it again? That would not be protected by the seal of confession since it isn’t one, and the priest could report that person.

      And one of the founding principles of our nation can hardly be considered a “loophole” when it was placed there on purpose with cases exactly like this in mind.

      source

      • onslaught545@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

        You’re making overly broad generalizations about a religion with over 1 billion members.

        There are absolutely people who abuse the confession system as a get out of jail free card for their guilt with no intention of changing their ways.

        Again, there are absolutely restrictions to freedom of religion, just like there’s restrictions on every other 1A right.

        source

        • -> View More Comments