"French gov’t fast-tracking bill to end seal of confession"

France’s Catholic bishops urged lawmakers to reconsider a bill that could require priests to report information learned in sacramental confession.

On May 29, the French Bishops’ Conference publicly expressed “deep concern” in national newspaper Le Figaro over a proposed law aimed at preventing and combating violence in schools, arguing that some provisions could undermine fundamental freedoms, including the confidentiality of confession. The legislation is scheduled for debate in the French National Assembly on June 1 after being examined by a parliamentary committee on May 26 and placed under an accelerated legislative procedure by the government on May 11.

“Some articles of the bill that will be debated in a public session at the National Assembly call into question several fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of conscience, professional confidentiality, freedom of education, and freedom of religion. This is why the French Bishops’ Conference is questioning members of Parliament on this matter and expressing its deep concern,” the official statement reads.