SW News: A bill has been introduced to North Dakota’s state legislature that would compel Catholic priests to violate the seal of confession in cases of confirmed or suspected child abuse. Failure to do so could see clerics face imprisonment or heavy fines. The bill was unveiled on January the 12th by a cross-party group of state senators and representatives. It proposes punishments for priests who refuse to break the seal of confession in such circumstances of 30 days in jail or fines up to $1,500 or both. In contrast, the law of the Church, Canon Law, describes the seal of confession as, quote, “inviolable” adding that it is, quote, “absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.”