[arthurus]

Conservatives who advocate shutting down the Church are not conservatives. They are Statists who brook no authority higher than the State. If there were such a law it would result in NO "justice" for anyone implicated in a confessional simply because no one would enter a confessional. Your virtue signalling accomplishes only making you feel righteous. When there are no resulting confessions of child abuse will you then demand that priests be held liable for there being no confessions?
By elinating the possibility of confessing one's sins you are arguably promoting more such sins because if a rapist confesses it means he has remorse of fear for his soul and might well go and do that sin any more. Without the confessional there is not that possibility.
In the confessional if the confessor is serious he is forgiven that sin. If he is not serious he is not forgiven. That does not depend on the priest's judgment of seriousness and the priest will apprise the penitent of that. He will also tell the penitent that to be forgiven he must turn himself in for his crime if crime it be and make restitution for his sin i.e. undergo whatever the law and the justice court prescribes.

[Campion]

Conservatives who advocate shutting down the Church are not conservatives. They are Statists who brook no authority higher than the State.

Preach it, brother!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“By elinating the possibility of confessing one’s sins you are arguably promoting more such sins because if a rapist confesses it means he has remorse of fear for his soul and might well go and do that sin any more. Without the confessional there is not that possibility.”

Priests are not necessary for confession, nor forgiveness in Scripture. Anyone can confess directly to God.

False argument.

[Lurker]

“Conservatives who advocate shutting down the Church are not conservatives.”

Then it’s a good thing I never did that.

L