Court rules that letters to priests do not fall under clergy-penitent privilege
September 11, 2015
The Appellate Court of Illinois has ruled that a letter written to a priest does not fall under the purview of the clergy-penitent privilege.
A pastor in the Diocese of Rockford received a letter from a parish volunteer alleging that one minor had sexually abused another minor. The mother of the accused minor filed a defamation lawsuit in which she alleged that the accusation was false and that her child had become “isolated and ostracized in the community, including the parish community.”
Citing the clergy-penitent privilege, the diocese and the priest have refused to divulge the name of the letter writer. The Appellate Court of Illinois upheld a lower court opinion and ordered the diocese to do so.
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Further information:
- Jaime Doe v. The Catholic Diocese of Rockford and John Doe (Appellate Court of Illinois)
- Clergy-Penitent Privilege Does Not Shield Disclosure of Writer of Defamatory Letter (Religion Clause)
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