FURTHER LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS The Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge today announced that it has petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States, asking it to reverse a Louisiana Supreme Court decision that could potentially allow a lower court to decide what constitutes the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Catholic Church. The legal action is the latest in a case involving Father Jeffrey Bayhi, currently the pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary, and the sanctity of the seal of confession. In 2009 the parents of a minor sued for damages suffered by them and their daughter as a result of alleged inappropriate kissing and touching of their child by a member of their parish. They named, among others, Father Bayhi, contending the girl sought spiritual guidance from Father Bayhi during the Sacrament of Reconciliation. At question is whether the plaintiff’s alleged conversation with Father Bayhi constituted a confession. According to church law the seal of confession is sacred, violation of which incurs the penalty of excommunication. A diocesan statement released today (September 4) said the State Supreme Court ruling strikes a very hard blow against religious freedom, and one which the diocese and Father Bayhi feel compelled to vigorously contest. The ruling, left undisturbed, would result in a trial during which the plaintiffs would be permitted to offer evidence regarding what transpired during a series of alleged confessions with Father Bayhi and the diocese utterly unable to defend themselves, unless Father Bayhi were to violate his vows to his church by divulging whether or not Ms. (Rebecca) Mayeux obtained confession, and, if such confessions did take place, what was said. The Louisiana Supreme Court has directed the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing and then to take the unprecedented step of deciding whether or not a sacrament actually took place. Such a trial is completely at odds with the guarantees of religious freedom enshrined in our federal and state constitutions, and the diocese and Father Bayhi will take every legal step available to ensure that those proceedings never occur. In its Petition for a Writ of Certiorari filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on August 21, attorneys for the diocese maintained that the State Supreme Court’s ruling threatens “church autonomy.” Earlier, on August 15, Judge Mike Caldwell of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge signed a Consent Judgment submitted by all of the parties to unseal portions of the record in the case. The full texts of the diocese’s supplemental Press Release, the Ex Parte Consent Motion and Order to Unseal Records, and Petition For Writ of Certeriori to the U.S. Supreme Court can be found via the diocesan website at diobr.org
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 22:02:52 +0000
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