The Supreme Court has declined to hear a Louisiana case involving a sacramental confession and whether a priest can be compelled to disclose what transpired if the person who made the confession waives confidentiality.

The effect of the court declining the case is that a lawsuit may proceed to a state court hearing about the nature of confession. The issue arose in a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over how it handled an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor girl by a now-dead prominent lay member of her parish. The family charged that Father Jeffrey Bayhi, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary, Louisiana, should have reported circumstances their then-minor daughter discussed with him in confession.