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 of the most severely penalized offenses within the Code." The sanctity of the confession was recognized in English law from the Norman Conquest in 1066 ...
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