Confession/Pastoral Combo

[AndyF]

Hi all.

Was wondering what the circumstances are that a priest can report a crime he comes to know about. Of course he can not report a crime divulged in confession. However, confessions can be made prior or after pastoral discussion in the same sitting.

Does absolution indicate the end of confession and beginning of pastoral discussion? What if he came for an appointment in pastoral advice, but decided after the conversation to confess.?

Should a penitent show caution when venturing into pastoral discussion that follows confession of a crime.? Does the whole sitting constitute a confessional environment?

Andy

 

[JimG]

Personally, if I were confessing a crime, I would use the anonymity of the confessional box. That puts no burden on the priest.

If one is going for counseling (not the sacrament of confession) and chooses to divulge a crime, it would be the same as divulging a crime to a psychotherapist. I don’t know what the law is with respect to the confidentiality of discussions with such professionals. Perhaps someone else here can help.

 

[Mel_Stones]

It is clear when Confession is taking place. I would say anything after the words of Absolution would no longer constitute Confession if pastoral counseling was to follow (the priest would probably say something along the lines of “now, what would you like to talk about” which would indicate the beginning of pastoral counseling). If pastoral counseling was not scheduled to follow but occurs anyway - anything after “Go in peace” would no longer be Confession.

I’m just guessing but I don’t think a priest would report or try to prevent a crime through action except in dire circumstances. For instance, if the person during pastoral counseling actively admitted to hurting children and was an active Catechist at the parish that would likely constitute action on the priest’s part. But if the person was truly seeking help, they would themselves step down at the priest’s request and so the priest wouldn’t have to take action beyond that.

If a person goes to a pastoral counseling session and asks for Confession at the end - the priest judges as he always would in Confession and decides whether or not to grant Absolution. Asking to Confess indicates a desire for reconciliation/reparation and therefore an end to the sin/crime, so no action would be taken by the priest. Priests can’t force a person to do penance, so if part of the penance was to turn oneself in for a crime and the person didn’t the priest couldn’t do anything about it.

I hope this makes sense. As always - This is to the best of my knowledge. I am not an expert and reserve the right to be corrected.