priest-penitent privilege
- noun
- /priːst ˈpɛnɪtənt ˈprɪvɪlɪdʒ/
- Formal
:
privilegio del sacerdote-penitente
- Under the priest-penitent privilege, the minister could not be compelled to testify about the confession.
Examples
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Courts have long recognized the importance of priest-penitent privilege in protecting religious confidentiality.
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The defense argued that the testimony was protected by priest-penitent privilege.
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The priest-penitent privilege ensures confidentiality during confession.
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Many believe that the priest-penitent privilege is essential for trust in the church.
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The lawyer argued that the priest-penitent privilege protects the confidentiality of confessions made during church services.
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Due to the priest-penitent privilege, the cleric refused to share what was revealed during the confession.
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The defendant's statements to the priest-penitent privilege are protected by the priest-penitent privilege, ensuring their confidentiality.
Surface Forms
Morphology
priest-penitent + privilege
If a learner knows the constituents 'priest' and 'penitent' (someone confessing) and 'privilege' (a legal right to refuse disclosure), the overall meaning — a legal right protecting confidentiality between clergy and a confessor — follows directly from composition. The hyphenated compound names the parties involved and the legal status, a transparent pattern found across languages and legal terminology.
Etymology
Priest-penitent privilege comes from the private talk between a priest and a penitent during a 'confession'. The word privilege here means a legal right to keep that talk secret, so the phrase now means a religious leader cannot be forced to tell what was said in confession.
