I understand that severe sanctions can be held against a doctor or lawyer who violates their clients’ confidentiality, but what about priests? What consequences does the Roman Catholic church (And, presumably, Anglican/Presbyterian and other faiths with the sacrament of reconciliation…confession, in other words) impose upon a priest who violates Confessor/penitent confidentiality?
A priest who violates the Seal of Confession is to be removed of his priestly duties. As the linked article from the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, in the days when the RCC had civil as well as spiritual authority, the priest my be required to spend the rest of his life in a monastery in penance.
Denominations with less rigid organizations probably have similar, but less severe, sanctions, down to a mere reprimand for loosely affiliated organizations.