In other American states, courts have concluded that the presence of wives, children, or parents of the penitent does not make the confessional privilege inapplicable.
Massimo Introvigne
California and Confession. 2. A Landmark Case, Reutkemeier v. Nolte
In 1917, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a confession can be rendered to a committee of four and still be protected by the confessional privilege.
La campagne contre l’Église de l’Unification au Japon : L’ombre du parti communiste
Un reportage explosif affirme que les communistes japonais ont joué un rôle-clé en alimentant l’hostilité contre le groupe religieux anticommuniste.
Butchers of Tibetan Buddhists and of Falun Gong Practitioners Sanctioned by the U.S.
Wu Yingjie, former CCP Secretary in Tibet, and Tang Yong, prison bureaucrat in Chongqing, are among those sanctioned.
The Universality of Human Rights and the Tai Ji Men Case
Those who claim that human right are not universal usually are those who do not respect them.
The Anti-Unification Church Campaign in Japan: The Shadow of the Communist Party
An explosive journalistic report claims Japanese Communists played a key role in fueling hostility against the anti-Communist religious group.
España: Campaña de incitación al odio contra los testigos de Jehová
Una asociación pide que se prohíba a los testigos de Jehová en España igual que se ha hecho en Rusia. Los Testigos la han demandado por difamación, pero la asociación cuenta con el respaldo de los medios.
California and Confession. 1. A Catholic Victory—Which Did Not Solve All Problems
In 2019, Catholics managed to stop a draft law that would have opened a breach in the confessional privilege. But they left a problem unsolved.
Spain: A Hate Speech Campaign Against the Jehovah’s Witnesses
An association calls for a Russian-style ban of the JWs in Spain. The Witnesses have sued for defamation, but the association is supported by most local media.
Brazil: Statue of Legendary Candomblé Priestess Set on Fire in Salvador
Mãe Stella de Oxóssi died in 2018. Her statue had been repeatedly vandalized by Christian fundamentalists and has now been burned.
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.