Eavesdropping on someone else's confession

[YellowPancakes]

I was at confession the other day and somehow a lady went in, skipping the line, without me noticing. The confessional room is around the corner, with a statue of Mary, so there is a very good chance of something like that happening.

Anyway I was just about to open the door when I heard the priest mumble something. As I wasn’t sure I listened a bit harder but still couldn’t make out any words. I decided to sit down and wait to see if someone would come out. Surely enough they did.

Have I committed a sin here by trying to hear what was happening? I mean it’s not like I was intentionally eavesdropping, merely just trying to work out if someone was in the room.

Also the room is like a room, not really a confessional. So it doesn’t have any lights etc.

I just feel a bit bad. The incident slipped my mind until I started thinking about it today.

 

[Elizium23]

Because you had no intent to sin, you didn’t commit any sin. If you had heard anything, you would be bound by the seal of the confessional, so keep that in mind.

 

[LilyM]

Sounds like you were merely trying to find out whether there was someone else in the confessional. Assuming there was no other way to tell (most confessionals have the doors closed and/or locked when someone is inside open and/or unlocked otherwise, or else lights outside to indicate when the confessional is available), or you were trying to hear all the juicy details of this woman’s sins or Father’s advice, you did nothing wrong.

 

[Qwestions]

Hi, YellowPancakes. I can appreciate your dilemma. Yes, you were trying to determine what was going on, but, no, you weren’t trying to hear someone else’s confession.

We had a very old priest in the priest’s box who used to say prayers out loud when the penitants’ boxes were empty. I mean LOUD! So you could be sitting at a respectable distance from the confessional and totally unable to hear a thing–until the penitants’ boxes were empty, at which time Father would start praying or practicing his sermon for the following Sunday. We’d just move to a pew a few more rows toward the back, but I’d find myself completing in my head the prayers that he’d started. Too funny! People in church were trying to be serious while preparing themselves for Confession, or saying their penances, and would have to struggle not to giggle.

As time went on, this priest became quite hearing impaired and would question people in the “hot seat” about their sins without a hint of a whisper, saying, “Speak up, Sir, I can’t hear you.” We just continued to struggle with our giggles and keep moving back. As he was our only priest, the K of C (Knights of Columbus) Grand Knight (president) went to talk to the Bishop and passed the word that we were doing the right thing by moving back. We were further told that if we did happen, by accident, to hear either a penitant’s sins or the priest’s announcement of penance (prayers or deeds), we were under no circumstances to ever repeat either part or we would be commiting mortal sin. We were also told to tell the priest about it at our next confession. Many times people would volunteer that they’d told him they’d overheard a snippet of one part or the other, and the priest had told them that they had committed no sin.

The way I understand it, you didn’t actually hear either the priest’s penance or admonitions, nor the penitant’s confession, so I would think that you’d be free of sin. Just go to confession at your earliest opportunity and tell the priest. Be sure to explain how the situation arose, with the area in question being around the corner. Perhaps he’ll want to improve upon that situation in some way, maybe even by using a large mirror during the time confession is being heard, so that this particular situation won’t be repeated.

Best wishes!