French bishops oppose bill that would force priests to violate secrecy of confession
Bishops in France have voiced opposition to a bill debated in the National Assembly on Monday that would require Catholic priests to report child abuse disclosures made during confession, a requirement they say violates one of the sacrament's foundational principles.
The French Episcopal Conference expressed "great concern" over several provisions of the bill, according to Infovaticana, which cited the French newspaper Le Figaro.
The bishops warned that the measure threatens freedom of worship, freedom of conscience and freedom of education.
The legislation was introduced by the parliamentary group of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who described it as a tool to strengthen protections for minors against violence in school settings.
Article 9 of the bill would require ministers of religion to report any instance of violence against minors that comes to their attention, including information received during the exercise of priestly ministry. The bill states that no appeal to the secrecy of confession could override that reporting obligation.
Under Catholic canon law, sacramental secrecy is considered absolutely inviolable, and violating it carries the gravest canonical penalties a priest can face.
The bishops cited French legal precedent in support of their position, noting that jurisprudence in the case of Bishop Pierre Pican of Bayeux and Lisieux affirmed that religious ministers were obligated to keep confidential what they learned in the exercise of their ministry.
The body said its defense of sacramental secrecy does not amount to shielding abusers.
Ecclesiastical norms require abuse known outside the context of sacramental confession to be reported and addressed, a standard reinforced during the pontificate of Pope Francis.
The bill also proposes a significant expansion of state oversight of state-subsidized private schools, including Catholic institutions, according to Infovaticana. Inspections, previously limited to verifying compliance with official academic programs, would be extended to all areas of school life, including what the bill describes as a school's "specific character" — the elements that express its particular identity.
In practical terms, the proposal would allow state inspectors to review Catholic schools' approaches to moral formation, affective-sexual education and the teaching of Christian anthropology. The bishops said the expanded oversight could result in administrative sanctions or the forced closure of schools.
The bill also calls for the creation of an Academic Council for Private Education, a new body intended to strengthen the state's supervisory authority over subsidized institutions.
Catholic education officials have interpreted the proposal as a step toward gradually reducing the autonomy church-affiliated schools have historically maintained within the French educational system.
The debate in France comes months after a similar dispute in the United States was resolved in favor of the Catholic Church.
In September 2025, Washington state agreed not to enforce a law that would have required Catholic priests to report abuse disclosures made during confession, ending a legal challenge against the measure.
The agreement was reached in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma and included a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the law against the Catholic Sacrament of Confession.
Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 into law in May 2025 after the Democrat-controlled Legislature passed it. The Senate approved the measure 28-20, while the House passed it 64-31.
SB 5375 added clergy to the list of professionals legally required to report child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, even when disclosures were made through privileged communications such as confession.
Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket Law, a religious liberty legal organization that helped represent the plaintiffs, called the resolution "a victory for religious freedom."
