Calif. robber confesses to priest, turns in cash

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Calif. robber confesses to priest, turns in cash
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – A man who robbed a San Francisco Bay area bank apparently felt guilty enough to confess his sins and hand over $1,200, but not enough to turn himself in.

Police say a man went to a church Sunday night to confess that he robbed the Walnut Creek branch of the Patelco Credit Union last week. After expressing remorse, the man handed the priest $1,200 and left. The priest then called police.

Walnut Creek police Lt. Shelly James says authorities don’t know the man’s name or if the money he turned over was the entire amount lost in the robbery. The money will be returned to the bank.

Police say the man entered the credit union Thursday afternoon and gave a bank teller a note demanding money. He claimed he had a gun.

James says police are still looking for the robber and will arrest him when he’s found.
 
The article does not state if the man was given absolution by the priest. Would the fact that the priest informed the authorities and returned the money make this priest in violation of divulging sins made by a penitant??
 
I doubt if he told the name of the presumed penitent.

Of course, it’s not clear as reported here whether this was the actual Sacrament of Confession or just a private admission to theft.
 
blaskoman said:
The article does not state if the man was given absolution by the priest. Would the fact that the priest informed the authorities and returned the money make this priest in violation of divulging sins made by a penitant??
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Certainly the duties of a confessor don’t include safekeeping stolen cash until the thief returns it to the bank himself. So the priest was well within bounds to notify police of a large sum of cash that was not his own. It seems to me that it would be improper to tell police anything else about it, unless the penitant had authorized this during his confession.

However, the police are going to ask the priest how he came upon this cash. Where was it found in the church? I’m not sure if the priest can reveal that it was given to him in the confessional, or if he must simply refuse to answer the question. Either way, police can put two and two together.
 
I think the priest gave him absolution. The thief did give back the money, so he did his restitution.
 
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