Can I talk about my confession with others?

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Kyle2253

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I know that priest are unable to break to seal of confession under the punishment of excommunication (and the same if I were to talk about something I overheard in athletic persons confession). My question is does this apply to my own confessions as well? Am I able to talk with others about the sins that I confessed or the things I talked with the priest about and the advice I was given? Or is this in itself a sin?
Thank you and God bless!
 
You’re allowed to talk about it all you want. You can write a book about it or put it on a billboard over Times Square if you like.
(If you’ve noticed, people post on here about stuff that happened in their own confessions all the time…“I said this and the priest said that and was he correct” etc.)

The priest is not allowed to talk about it to others, and anyone who overheard you in there is also not allowed to talk about it to others.
 
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Thank you very much for the help! I didn’t think that it was a problem, but just wanted to double check. Thank you again!
 
It’s not a sin to talk to someone else about your own confession. But my thnking is this: The great blessing of confession is that all your sins are forgiven. Gone! It’s like you’ve taken out the trash and it’s gone. Why would you want to go through the trash again with someone else? It seems pointless and rather counter-productive, and can exacerbate any scrupulous tendencies. Just be glad that all your sins are forgiven; no need to discuss what’s gone.
 
Yup for sure! As a kid I remember getting some weird advise and running straight out and talking to my mom about it. Only the priest is sworn to silence!
 
JimG said:
Why would you want to go through the trash again with someone else? It seems pointless and rather counter-productive, and can exacerbate any scrupulous tendencies. Just be glad that all your sins are forgiven; no need to discuss what’s gone.
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You sins are forgiven, but sometimes people also have the urge to apologize, especially if their sin hurt someone they care about.
 
You can do this if you wish, but I don’t recommend it. Confession is a private matter. It’s no sin if you do, but I don’t make a practice of it, unless it is necessary for educational purposes in an anonymous forum (such as this one), and even then, I ask myself “does this really need to be shared?”.

Keep in mind, too, that the priest can’t talk about it, and if you tell someone that Father X said this or that, that’s kind of unfair to him.

It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t make a practice of doing it, that’s all I can say.
 
Well in all things we should use discretion when talking about anyone… even ourselves. So as others said yes it’s fine but in moderation and with respect for ourselves and the priest. We should not be sharing everything we do and say without discretion anyway as an act of modesty so to in this. If we do it for good reasons and in good form it would be fine but just for vanity or gossip then it could be sinful in itself. Of course used in humility and instruction with discretion and care it may well be a work of mercy.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Keep in mind, too, that the priest can’t talk about it, and if you tell someone that Father X said this or that, that’s kind of unfair to him.
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I always wonder how, if at all, a priest can defend himself from a false accusation in the confessional.

If penitent says, “oh, Father Jones told me to go ahead and keep sinning and also advised me to sacrifice a goat to Satan”, I wonder if the priest can simply say “I never said that” without going into what he actually did say.
 
RolandThompsonGunner said:
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HomeschoolDad:
Keep in mind, too, that the priest can’t talk about it, and if you tell someone that Father X said this or that, that’s kind of unfair to him.
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I always wonder how, if at all, a priest can defend himself from a false accusation in the confessional.

If penitent says, “oh, Father Jones told me to go ahead and keep sinning and also advised me to sacrifice a goat to Satan”, I wonder if the priest can simply say “I never said that” without going into what he actually did say.
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No, he can’t. That is why I strongly recommend that people not discuss their confessions with others. In an anonymous forum, fine. Where the priest is known to everyone, pretty uncharitable to the priest if you ask me.

In fact, that is yet one more reason I would shy away from a priestly vocation, if I were in a state of life to be discerning one in the first place.
 
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