Priest Must Reveal Letter Accusing Boy of Improper Sexual Conduct

(September 9, 2015) A parish priest must reveal the name of the author and produce a letter from a religious education volunteer asking for advice regarding what to do if a named boy engaged again in alleged improper sexual conduct with other minors.

The Illinois Second District Court of Appeals said the content of the letter constituted defamation per se and was not protected under the clergy-penitent privilege. The parents of the boy requested the author’s identity and a copy of the letter under an Illinois procedure that allows a party to obtain the identity of one who may be liable in damages.

The case involves an undisclosed Catholic parish in the Rockford Diocese. The pastor received a letter from a volunteer of the parish’s religious education program, who had the responsibility of monitoring children in the program.

The petitioner claims that the letter contained several false allegations against her son, namely that he “engaged in a sexual touching against another minor child,” he “was older and larger than the other child,” and he “threatened the other child with harm if the other child told anybody about the touching.” The pastor refused to identify the letter writer and refused to produce the letter.

The appellate court found that the statements in the letter were defamatory per se because the letter accused the boy of fornication and the commission of a crime. The opinion found that the statements could not be innocently construed.

The diocese argued the letter was protected from disclosure under the clergy-penitent privilege law. The appellate court said the privilege extends only to information conveyed in the course of making an admission or confession to a clergy member in his capacity as a spiritual counselor.

“Here, the writer explained the background of one of the children under his or her supervision and asked for guidance in handling the problems posed by this background; the writer did not make a confession or admission,” the opinion said. The letter outlines “a potential source of risk for the parish and the children if J. Doe were to repeat such conduct while participating in the educational program offered by the parish. This is fundamentally not a matter of conscience for the writer; rather it is a matter of risk management for the writer as an agent of the parish and a guardian of children.”

The case was filed in January 2014 in Kane County and was impounded. Details of the case were not revealed until the appellate court issued its opinion.

Jamie Doe v. The Catholic Diocese of Rockford and John Doe, Second Dist. Illinois, No. 20125 ILApp(2d)140618, issued Sept. 4, 2015.