A merchant sued a company for breach of contract, alleging that the products she purchased failed to conform to contract specifications. Shortly before the trial was to begin, the merchant suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed and virtually unable to communicate. Her guardian was properly substituted as the plaintiff in the lawsuit. At trial, following presentation of the plaintiff's case, the company calls as a witness a priest to question him about a conversation he had with the merchant at a church fundraiser. In this conversation, the merchant told the priest in confidence that the products she received were actually quite functional, but that she had become aware of a lower price being offered by another vendor, and thus wanted to get out of her contract with the company. The plaintiff's attorney immediately objects on the basis of clergy-penitent privilege. How should the court rule on the objection