Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Has anyone out there ever been in a 'confessional box' where a priest could fondle a child as is alleged by this woman? Confessionals have a solid wall with a screen window through which the priest and penitent converse! It reminds me of an expression my Grandmother used to say when we used to bring our girl friends to our family cottage: "The best form of birth control between a man and woman is a solid wall between them." If my brothers and I were unable to touch our girl friends through a bedroom wall, how can a priest physically molest a penitent if they are separated by a wall? Remember, the 'confessional box' was designed specifically to provide a barrier to prevent just offenses!! UTV News - Abuse victim ‘hurt’ by confession stance

I should hope so!! Priest may NEVER breech the seal of the confessional. We do not ever discuss such matters, even between ourselves as priests. It is a forbidden topic of conversation. Irish priests will refuse to break seal of confession if proposal becomes law :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

From the National Law Review . Here's a snippet: The Catholic Church must deal with the recent, unfulfilled promise of Pope Benedict XVI that it will never again hide the sins of pastoral administrators. His admirable condemnation of past misconduct and his allusion to extending the statute of limitations for claims against offending priests are appropriate first steps. TWO NECESSARY CHANGES Without two changes in the Church's practices — its absolute rule about the pastoral privilege by which confidential confessions are invariably protected and its resort to confidentiality agreements in settling complaints of priests' misconduct — his admonitions will prove illusory. The Vatican's secrecy policies have impeded attempts to expose and punish wrongdoings by priests.... There are two secrecy problems that need to be addressed, and redressed. First, the confidentiality of the confessional, intrinsic to Church doctrine, while benign in most situations, als...