Depends what people write in the laws, Raggytash. The laws of most nations honor the seal of confession, while the laws of other nations do not. The laws of the Catholic Church make the seal of confession sacrosanct - so if civil laws do not honor that, then I guess there's a conflict. But the seal of confession is more-or-less like doctor-client or attorney-client privilege - and it is honored by law in most situations.

If I had gone on to become a Catholic priest, I would choose to follow the church law and still do my best to ensure that the appropriate authorities were notified. I suppose a government could cause a standoff by requiring a transcript of what went on in the sacrament, but that seems unnecessary. In every situation I can think of, there is an alternative.

All Mary Rose McCall needed to do, was talk with the priest about the matter outside of confession. She went into the confessional with the knowledge that the priest was not allowed to reveal what she said.

-Joe-