Confessions

[talitim]

I am a new Roman Catholic, I just had my first communion and confirmation. My wife is following me into the church. A question came up that I dont know how to answer. It was did our Church in fact transfer dangerous preists from parish to parish, and why. Then we were both aske what if a pedefeil confessed to hurting a child, is the preist bound to secrecy or does he turn that person in.
I dont know how to answer these questions. please e-mail me answers

EDIT

 

[Trelow]

A priest must never break the seal of the confessional, regardless of the sin committed.

 

[palmas85]

I am a new Roman Catholic, I just had my first communion and confirmation. My wife is following me into the church. A question came up that I dont know how to answer. It was did our Church in fact transfer dangerous preists from parish to parish, and why. Then we were both aske what if a pedefeil confessed to hurting a child, is the preist bound to secrecy or does he turn that person in.
I dont know how to answer these questions. please e-mail me answers

I was under the impression that new Catholics were received into the Church during the Easter Vigil. Have I been misinformed on this?

 

[LilyM]

Doesn’t mean he won’t urge the person to turn themselves in though. Or that he will automatically absolve him either. He can’t directly break the confidence though.

Don’t forget there are other people - doctors, lawyers and so on, who may also sometimes bound to secrecy, even in cases of pedophilia.

 

[Trelow]

I was under the impression that new Catholics were received into the Church during the Easter Vigil. Have I been misinformed on this?

Not always, exceptions can be made.

 

[Amateur_Soul]

Doesn’t mean he won’t urge the person to turn themselves in though. Or that he will automatically absolve him either.

I would think that would be the first step of the penance assigned.

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

I was under the impression that new Catholics were received into the Church during the Easter Vigil. Have I been misinformed on this?

That may be the way it is done now. When I converted back in 1963, I took instruction from the priest himself ( a small town)…was baptized in September and was confirmed the next February.

:heart:Blyss

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Palmas85: Properly baptized Christians can be received any time of year, depending on the parish and who they have to take care of such matters. However, most parishes find it more convenient to lump the already baptized in with the catechumens, mostly because of lack of manpower to catechize. It can create some misconceptions. Ask puzzleannie.

Talitim: Welcome home!

No, the priest can’t tell, not for any reason, even pedophelia, even murder, even stealing, drug dealing, etc. He can’t tell on any of us, no matter how small or how large the sin. The positive of this is that the majority of priests are trusted people.

 

[talitim]

I see, thank you for your help you have been great to answer this awkward question. I still dont know how to give a proper apology to the question, but I will keep searching. May God bless you and Mary Keep you.

 

[talitim]

No, the priest can’t tell, not for any reason, even pedophelia, even murder, even stealing, drug dealing, etc. He can’t tell on any of us, no matter how small or how large the sin. The positive of this is that the majority of priests are trusted people.

But isn’t it true that God created the law, and that as long as that law isn’t contrary to what God commands or wants, that no one is OUTSIDE of the law, not police officers or lawyers, professionals or priests?
I can understand a priest being bound to secrecy in the case of anyone confessing to a PROBLEM with pedophilia, or worse, even, but I can hardly, hardly believe that the Catholic Church doesn’t provide an exception in the case to someone who has just confessed to molesting a little child, for example. He/she may be confessing out of true remorse, but may in fact go back and do it again, and again, and again-- and in the meantime here is a little child being harmed, and the only one who knows about it is ‘bound’ not to tell. Thus, he is party to a terrible crime.
Now, does this really foster a sense of trust in priests to whom such crimes might be confessed? Whom is the priest really helping-- the pedophile, or the child?
There IS no positive in keeping such a secret that can have devastating consequences on one so young. (I write this as Michael’s wife and one who has suffered such abuse… and also as one who loves the Roman Catholic Church and will soon go through RCIA myself, although I have tough questions, and hope there is a better answer than the ones that have been suggested so far.)

 

[Trelow]

There IS no positive in keeping such a secret that can have devastating consequences on one so young.

Sure there is, if one knows that the secrets of their confession may be leaked, then they may not confess and loose their soul to hell. I know people too, very close to me, that have been molested. (Not involving those inside the Church) And as bad as it is it’s not as bad as loosing your soul.

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

I can understand a priest being bound to secrecy in the case of anyone confessing to a PROBLEM with pedophilia, or worse, even, but I can hardly, hardly believe that the Catholic Church doesn’t provide an exception in the case to someone who has just confessed to molesting a little child, for example. He/she may be confessing out of true remorse, but may in fact go back and do it again, and again, and again-- and in the meantime here is a little child being harmed, and the only one who knows about it is ‘bound’ not to tell. Thus, he is party to a terrible crime.
Now, does this really foster a sense of trust in priests to whom such crimes might be confessed? Whom is the priest really helping-- the pedophile, or the child?
There IS no positive in keeping such a secret that can have devastating consequences on one so young. (I write this as Michael’s wife and one who has suffered such abuse… and also as one who loves the Roman Catholic Church and will soon go through RCIA myself, although I have tough questions, and hope there is a better answer than the ones that have been suggested so far.)

It is a terrible situation to be sure, but a priest is bound by a vow to God not to break the confessional. IF he did, not only would he endanger his own soul, he would endanger the whole Sacrament of Reconcilliation. By this I mean that if it came out that a priest turned someone in for molestation (or other terrible crime) people would stop confessing or withholding terrible sins from their confessors–thereby risking many, many souls to eternal damnation. And though I hate to sound unfeeling to a child who has been molested, their suffering does not outweigh the importance of keeping the Sacrament’s integrity. By the way, before anyone slams me for saying that, I will add that I myself was a victim of childhood sexual abuse…probably by a serial offender. So, don’t think I don’t care about molestations and the like. I do. But Sacraments are above the sufferings of the world–they must not be corrupted for any earthly purpose. Remember that both the victim and the criminal will get justice at the time of judgment.

 

[talitim]

Of course things told outside of confession are NOT bound to secrecy and there for the Preist can act and turn the person in. I just found this out from a person that wrote to me from Steubanville OHIO. THank you for all your responses, I will continue to check on this to see more answers.