Interfaith Group

Even in the medical profession, privacy rights are not absolute. Yes, you can (or, rather, should be able to) trust your doctor not to run around town telling anyone and everyone about the details of your last visit, but if your doctor believes you to be a threat to yourself or others, he or she is legally obligated to tell someone.

People who enter a confessional booth have a similarly reasonable expectation to privacy. If you cheat on your spouse, drink too much, or otherwise violate the central moral tenets of your religion, you shouldn't have to worry about whether or not your cleric is going to blab about it to someone else. But at the same time, if there is a chance you pose a threat to yourself or others, then privacy is no longer a reasonable expectation. In the interest of your community, or in the interest of yourself, it becomes incumbent upon the cleric to alert the proper authorities.

I can't speak to whether the sanctity of the sacrament of confession is called into question by these changes, but ultimately, I do think this benefits both the Anglican Church and its communities, and the Church hierarchy deserves a lot of credit for modernizing their stance on privacy to comport with the standards of most secular institutions. The important part, I think, is that they make it clear to their clergy and congregations what manner of situation would warrant information sharing, to minimize mistakes and misunderstandings.