DR William Lurie, no one is more vehemently opposed to Mr. Ashcroft and his Patriot Act. But I do not see where it is an erosion of our civil liberties by making a "mandate reporter" report situations of ongoing violence or abuse...or frankly, for me, impending violence. So let me ask you, hypothetically, if you were a lawyer and you knew a client of yours was going to commit a murder would you honour client/lawyer privilege and let an innocent be murdered? Those who let evil thrive are a part of the evil. Doctors and therapists and social workers have probably saved many lives of battered women and children by getting them out explosive situations where they ultimately might have been killed.
And to answer your question, YES! Under similar circumstances, I think priests should have to break confidentality as well...mostly against themselves. We've seen the litany of seething corruption and broken lives, thanks to the tacit vow of silence that goes on within the Catholic hierarchy. Next to Ashcroft, I think Cardinal Roger Mahoney the most evil man in America.