The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated.
https://www.newsweek.com/catholic-church-excommunicate-priests-following-new-us-state-law-2069039
Same reason there is protection if you admit crimes to your lawyer and sometimes to your spouse. It’s a matter of privacy. It isn’t just some special club, any faith that establishes a rite similar to confession should be able to use a similar protective mechanism within certain limits to enable discussion about sensitive and possibly criminal issues.