(A) As used in this rule, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated below:
(1) Clergyman. — Priest, minister, religious practitioner or similar functionary of a church or of a religious cult or denomination or religious organization.
(2) Penitent. — A person who has made a penitential communication to a clergyman.
(3) Penitential communication. — A communication made in confidence, in the presence of no third person, to a clergyman who, in the course of the discipline or practice of his church or organization, is authorized or accustomed to hear such communications and, under the discipline of his church, has a duty to keep such communications secret.
(B) A clergyman or a penitent, whether or not a party to the action, has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent another from disclosing a penitential communication.