29 January 2004

Virginia is moving toward a clergy snitch rule. It excludes the confessional but is still somewhat worrisome. What happens if a priest suspects something but before he can report anything the perpetrator goes to confession? Or what if someone tells the priest during confession and the priest notices indicators afterward?

And the $64,000 question: can the exclusion of evidence acquired during the sacrament of confession be found to be a violation of the constitution because it favors those denominations with such a private sacrament over faiths which have none (or worse require open confession in front of the congregation)?

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