#12181 Must Priests Break the Seal of Confession Under New Laws? - Colin Donovan
Catholic Answers Live
Catholic Answers
4.8 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2025
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A new law in Washington state requires priests to report abuse heard in confession—can civil law override the sacred seal? We explore Church teaching, legal precedent, and why this issue matters for Catholics everywhere, along with insights on forgiveness, tradition, and spiritual healing.
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Questions Covered:
- 13:16 – If God said all creation is good, were there predators and prey from the beginning?
- 16:44 – How do I get over being hurt from my local Catholic Church? Sorry i put up the wrong fader at first.
- 20:54 – How do I better explain why can’t women be priests?
- 28:49 – I’ve been forgiven in confession for hurting others. My heart still yearns to be forgiven from them. Some are living and some are deceased. Is it ok to feel this way?
- 33:27 – I’m a new Catholic. What do you recommend I read more about traditions of the Church that I didn’t cover in OCIA?
- 43:44 – On Friday the governor of Washington signed a law that priests will be required to report child abuse revealed during confession. Isn’t this already settled law?
- 51:34 – What is your best argument against the essence/energies distinction as proposed by Gregory Palamas?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Buying or selling your home, real estate for life can connect you with a pro-life real estate agent. |
| 0:05.2 | When Real Estate for Life receives a referral fee, they donate 65% to Catholic Answers. |
| 0:11.5 | Learn more at realestateforlife.org. Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers live. I am Cy Kelly, your host. Delighted to be here with you on Cinco de Mayo, one of America's most important holidays. |
| 0:39.3 | Not that big in Mexico, but huge here in the United States. |
| 0:43.2 | Special guest for Cinco de Mayo, Colin Donovan, Vice President for Theology at EWTN, |
| 0:49.8 | and often you hear him Fridays on Open Line Friday. |
| 0:56.1 | Happy Cinco de Mayo, Colin. |
| 1:02.2 | And also you as well. I mean, out in San Diego, you probably got a lot of celebrations going on this weekend. |
| 1:12.2 | Yes, I'm sure we do. My wife said, drive carefully. So I think she was aware of the kind of celebrations that will be going on out there it's single tomorrow is funny it's I think I'm not sure about this but I've been told |
| 1:17.9 | that St. Patrick's Day way bigger in America than it is in Ireland and certainly Cinco |
| 1:23.1 | de Mayo is bigger in the United States than in Mexico I I've heard that regarding St. Patrick's Day, certainly, that, you know, in fact, I think |
| 1:31.7 | they've adopted some of the things we do in terms of parades and floats and stuff like that, |
| 1:36.4 | if I'm not mistaken. |
| 1:37.6 | Yeah. |
| 1:38.0 | You know, so, but, you know, there are, there are more native-born Irish in America than there are native-born Irish in |
| 1:47.0 | Ireland. |
| 1:47.4 | Oh, I didn't know that. |
| 1:49.3 | Well, yeah. |
| 1:49.7 | Well, in the sense that 40 million descendants of Irish people are in North America, |
| 1:57.9 | and I think was it, six or seven million people in Ireland so I yeah yeah |
| 2:03.5 | substantially well I don't know I don't want to ask you about your Cinco de Mayo plans probably |
| 2:08.6 | right after the show you're going to I don't know I'm going to guess Colin Donovan what am I going to |
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