Every state has a statute or court rule making certain communications to clergy "privileged." This generally means that neither the minister nor the "penitent" can be forced to testify in court (or in a deposition or certain other legal proceedings) about the contents of the communication. The history of the clergy-penitent privilege was summarized by one court as follows:
The priest-penitent privilege originated with the seal of confession. Under the Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church for a "confessor in any way to betray a penitent" was a crime. A confessor who directly violates the seal of confession incurs an automatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. Traditionally, breaking the seal of confession "has been one ...
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