Archbishop Cordileone slammed a new law forcing priests to break the Seal of Confession in Washington state, telling Raymond Arroyo, ‘This is what is happening in China.’
(LifeSiteNews) — During a recent interview, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone sharply criticized a recently passed Washington state law requiring priests to violate the Seal of Confession, comparing it to the persecution of the Church in Communist China.
During a May 22 appearance on Raymond Arroyo's "The World Over," Archbishop Cordileone compared Washington's recently passed SB 5375, which forces priests to violate the Seal of Confession to report alleged abuse, to the Chinese government's notorious interference in churches.
Several Catholic clergy have spoken out against this law since its passage.
"This [law] is very worrisome; this is what is happening in China. It's happened in so many different forms in different parts of the world, going back to Europe with Gallicanism and all those forms of state control of the Church," the archbishop told Arroyo. "It's happening in China, now it's happening here in the United States. This is the government getting involved in the affairs of the Church."Here, Archbishop Cordileone appears to be referring to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) state-approved "church" that has brutally persecuted faithful Catholics who do not support the party, leading the nation's Catholics underground. Persecution of Chinese Catholics has increased drastically since the signing of the controversial 2018 Sino-Vatican deal, which is believed to recognize the state-approved "church" and allows the CCP to appoint bishops.
READ: Human Rights Watch urges Pope Leo to address secretive China deal
The law, signed earlier this month by the state's Democratic governor, Bill Ferguson, was the latest attempt by Washington Democratic state Sen. Noel Frame to force Catholic priests to break the Seal of Confession and reveal what they hear in the confessional – or go to jail. The bill explicitly singles out priests, removing their “privileged communication” exception, while allowing it for professionals who may hear of abuse.
Frame, a self-professed Catholic convert, previously cited the Catholic Church’s support for penitential secrecy in her decision to no longer practice Catholicism. However, she already had a history of supporting abortion and the LGBT movement, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.
The debate over the bill also often involved severe misunderstandings of how the Catholic Church operates, with some people asking why the late Pope Francis could not simply change the Church’s teaching about the Seal of Confession.
READ: Washington governor signs bill forcing priests break Seal of Confession
Priests are automatically excommunicated if they break the Seal of Confession, according to canon law.
Canon 1386 states, “A confessor (priest) who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; he who does so only indirectly is to be punished according to the gravity of the offence.”
Several Catholic prelates have condemned the passing of this law. The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC), citing Acts 5:29, said in a statement that it would not comply with the law.
Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle, on behalf of the WSCC, wrote:
This weekend at Mass, the first reading was from the Acts of the Apostles. After the apostles were arrested and thrown into jail for preaching the name of Jesus Christ, St. Peter responds to the Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). This is our stance now in the face of this new law. Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church. All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.
The law has also drawn scrutiny from the federal government. The Department of Justice announced earlier this month it would open a federal civil rights investigation into the state.
