Folia Theologica et Canonica 10. 32/24 (2021)
Ius canonicum
MANTADORY REPORTING LEGISLATION AND THE SEAL OF CONFESSION... 77 b. French Bishop Case A French court convicted Monsignor Pierre Pican, Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux in the Calvados region in northern France on September 4,2001 of concealing knowledge that a priest was sexually abusing children, sentencing him to a three-month suspended prison term.25 The prosecution said he had failed to ensure the case was brought to the attention of judicial authorities. The prosecutor, in his argument at the close of the trial had made clear that it was not the Church that was being judged. “This is not the trial of the church, but of a man of the church who failed in his duty”, the prosecutor told the Court. The defense lawyers argued that the bishop did not know the full extent of the events and so could not judge their seriousness. Bernard Blachard, the defense lawyer said: “You will see that he did not have full knowledge of the facts. We’ll be explaining this (...) And then there was the situation of the priest who was on the verge of suicide” said his lawyer. Furthermore, they discussed, that the Bishop had been motivated by what amounts to professional secrets even though he learned of the priest’s acts outside the church confessional. But the prosecution said this legal notion did not apply to crimes against children.26 2. USA a. USA privileged communications The USA legal system recognizes some privileged communications, such as professional confidential communication, attorney-client privilege and “clergy-penitent privilege”, where penitent refers to the person consulting the clergy. The “Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect” chart is summarizing States provisions and specifies the circumstances under which a communication is “privileged” or allowed to remain confidential. According to the chart, mandatory reporting statutes in some States specify when those privileged communications may be exempt from the requirement to report suspected abuse or neglect. Since the doctrine of some faiths requires that clergy must maintain the confidentiality of pastoral communications, such as the Roman Catholic Church, most of USA States27 do provide the privilege, typically in rules of evidence or civil procedure.28 25 See the BBC News, in http://news.bbc.co.Uk/2/hi/europe/1390018.stm (consulted: 11.11.2021). 26 See the BBC News, in http://news.bbc.co.Uk/2/hi/europe/1525053.stm (consulted: 11.11.2021). 27 See Mandatory Reporting, Seal Confession State Laws, in America Magazine, in https://www . americamagazine.org/2019/07/01 /mandatory-reporting-seal-confession-state-laws (consulted: 11.6.2021). 28 See the Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect, in https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/clergymandated.pdf (consulted: 11.6.2021).
