CV NEWS FEED // The CEO of EWTN has called on the Vatican to speak about the religious freedom consequences of a new Hong Kong law that could potentially require priests to violate the seal of confession.
Michael Warsaw, the CEO of EWTN and the publisher of the National Catholic Register, wrote on March 28 that Hong Kong’s new law threatening to prosecute all individuals who fail to report “treasonous” acts could violate religious freedom.
Hong Kong’s parliament unanimously passed the law, Article 23, on March 19. The law does not make an exception for clergy; they could be required to go against Church teaching and report any information obtained in the confessional.
Warsaw wrote that even if a situation requiring a cleric to violate the seal of confession never arises, the law has planted “a seed of doubt.”
“That’s why it’s so imperative that Catholic leaders—including Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin—speak out against this latest blow to religious freedom and human rights in the Chinese territory,” he wrote. “Like any country, China has a right to protect its national security. The problem is that China’s atheistic communist government views all religious expression not under its direct oversight as a security threat.”
Though the Diocese of Hong Kong claims that “the legislation of Article 23 will not alter the confidential nature of Confession,” Warsaw added that Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok told journalists on March 7 that it would be “very difficult to create exceptions” for clergy or social workers.
Several Catholics and human-rights leaders signed a statement on March 13, calling on the Vatican, the Archbishop of Canterbury and other global religious leaders, as well as international communities like the United Nations, to speak out against Article 23.
“[W]e call on Pope Francis and the Vatican, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and all other global religious leaders to speak out and to use their good offices to ensure that this new security legislation in Hong Kong does not result in further violations of freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression or increased repression for practitioners of all faiths in Hong Kong,” the statement read. “We call for immediate, urgent and collective international action to defend freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong.”
CatholicVote reported that China has recently been silent on matters relating to the Vatican’s authority in the Chinese Catholic Church. As of yet, the Vatican has made no statement on Article 23.
