“The defense of the sacramental seal and the sanctity of confession can never constitute some form of connivance with evil, on the contrary, they represent the only true antidote to evil that threatens man and the whole world,” states the note signed by the head of the penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza July 1.

Thousands of Catholics, through the efforts of dioceses around California, are contracting their Assembly Members to object to the infringement of religious freedom that SB 360 represents. The bill threatens to remove the right to privacy between a penitent and confessor during the Sacrament of Reconciliation and other spiritual counseling for priests and employees of the Church.