- Feb 5, 2002
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Clergy members could face 14 years in prison for refusing to reveal any crimes of 'treason' they hear confessed.
Washington residents: Click here to lobby your legislators and bishops today
HONG KONG (LifeSiteNews) — The government of Hong Kong published a new security law last Friday that will require Catholic priests to break the seal of the confessional by revealing any crimes of “treason” they hear confessed, with a potential 14-year imprisonment for those who refuse. The law is a direct attack on the integrity of the sacramental seal to which all priests are bound under the ecclesiastical penalty of an automatic excommunication.
The full text of the new domestic security law was made publicly available on Friday and included five more categories of crimes than had been previously made available for public comment. According to reports, “it appears it will be fast-tracked through the pro-Beijing puppet rubber-stamp legislature with alarming speed – perhaps within days.”
As detailed by Benedict Rogers, the co-founder and CEO of human rights advocacy group Hong Kong Watch, “The final text of the Bill… includes penalties for five types of offences which were not included in the public consultation paper. In the Bill, anyone convicted of offences with seditious intention will be liable for up to seven years in jail; a person who is found to have colluded with an external force will be liable for 10 years in jail; and a person who, without reasonable excuse, possesses a publication that has seditious intentions is liable for three years’ imprisonment. There are also penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for sedition-related offences and four new crimes which will be punished by up to life imprisonment.”
He continued, “In addition, there are new restrictions which can ban an arrestee from speaking to a lawyer of their choice, detention without charge will be extended to up to seven days, more severe penalties for activists abroad will be applied, and all offences will apply to ‘anyone’ outside of Hong Kong.”
Continued below.
www.lifesitenews.com
Washington residents: Click here to lobby your legislators and bishops today
HONG KONG (LifeSiteNews) — The government of Hong Kong published a new security law last Friday that will require Catholic priests to break the seal of the confessional by revealing any crimes of “treason” they hear confessed, with a potential 14-year imprisonment for those who refuse. The law is a direct attack on the integrity of the sacramental seal to which all priests are bound under the ecclesiastical penalty of an automatic excommunication.
The full text of the new domestic security law was made publicly available on Friday and included five more categories of crimes than had been previously made available for public comment. According to reports, “it appears it will be fast-tracked through the pro-Beijing puppet rubber-stamp legislature with alarming speed – perhaps within days.”
As detailed by Benedict Rogers, the co-founder and CEO of human rights advocacy group Hong Kong Watch, “The final text of the Bill… includes penalties for five types of offences which were not included in the public consultation paper. In the Bill, anyone convicted of offences with seditious intention will be liable for up to seven years in jail; a person who is found to have colluded with an external force will be liable for 10 years in jail; and a person who, without reasonable excuse, possesses a publication that has seditious intentions is liable for three years’ imprisonment. There are also penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for sedition-related offences and four new crimes which will be punished by up to life imprisonment.”
He continued, “In addition, there are new restrictions which can ban an arrestee from speaking to a lawyer of their choice, detention without charge will be extended to up to seven days, more severe penalties for activists abroad will be applied, and all offences will apply to ‘anyone’ outside of Hong Kong.”
Continued below.
14 years in prison threatened for Hong Kong priests who refuse to break seal of confession - LifeSite
Clergy members could face 14 years in prison for refusing to reveal any crimes of 'treason' they hear confessed.
www.lifesitenews.com
