Fr. Corapi and seal of confession

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decn2b

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Hello,

I watched Fr. Corapi’s conversion story last night (which is a beutiful example of God’s Grace and a very amazing story) and somthing struck me odd. At the end of Fr. Corapis talk he mentions his father coming to him and asking him to hear his confession. He tells the audience that his father said “bless me father for I have sinned it has be 50 years since my last confession” didn’t Father Corapi break the seal of confession by telling his audience?
 
Maybe his father gave permission - but Fr also did not speak of the sins confessed.
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decn2b:
Hello,

I watched Fr. Corapi’s conversion story last night (which is a beutiful example of God’s Grace and a very amazing story) and somthing struck me odd. At the end of Fr. Corapis talk he mentions his father coming to him and asking him to hear his confession. He tells the audience that his father said “bless me father for I have sinned it has be 50 years since my last confession” didn’t Father Corapi break the seal of confession by telling his audience?
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jrabs:
Maybe his father gave permission - but Fr also did not speak of the sins confessed.
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I agree with you. I have several dvd’s by Father Corapi including the one about his conversion. Father Corapi did not say anything about the Confession itself.
 
Slightly off topic, but I never know he was a convert. What faith was he before converting?
 
But things got pretty murkey as he entered in adulthood. He didn’t convert from another religion or denomination. But after hearing his story I can assure you he is a convert. he converted from a hellbound life to a life in the church.
 
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Jabronie:
Slightly off topic, but I never know he was a convert. What faith was he before converting?
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He was a Catholic born and raised. He fell away from the faith but then came back later in life.
 
Maureen Fiore:
He was a Catholic born and raised. He fell away from the faith but then came back later in life.
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Ok. I story many of us have in common.
 
Maureen Fiore:
He was a Catholic born and raised. He fell away from the faith but then came back later in life.
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I have a tape of him detailing his conversion story from the Mary Foundation. If I remember correctly, his progression through life was soldier, Vegas accountant, millionaire California real estate mogul, cocaine addict, revert to the faith, Catholic priest. The Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY mentions in some of their materials that it was at their shrine that Fr. Corapi made his first confession after his decades of being away from the Church.
 
Father Corapi’s father died on September the 11, yes the same september 11 as the attacks. So, he isnt betraying his fathers confession as his father is dead and Im sure his father would be proud to be used in the lectures of father Corapi especially if it causes even one person to repent after even a lesser time away from the Church.
 
Andreas Hofer:
I have a tape of him detailing his conversion story from the Mary Foundation. If I remember correctly, his progression through life was soldier, Vegas accountant, millionaire California real estate mogul, cocaine addict, revert to the faith, Catholic priest. The Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY mentions in some of their materials that it was at their shrine that Fr. Corapi made his first confession after his decades of being away from the Church.
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Yes, but I heard his conversion speech too and he never said he came from a different faith. He mentioned his mother as a devout Catholic and sent him a prayer to our Blessed Mother, Hail Mary. So, I would think he is a Catholic, but fell away during his 30yrs. living a rich and dangerous lifestyle. He became consumed with drugs and lost everything. That is when his mother told him to come home and he went to a old priest and made a good confession and realized then that he wanted to become a priest.
 
I realize that Fr. Corapi’s situation may be different but the seal of confession is ETERNAL, even into death of the penitent this seal cannot be broken. A priest cannot reveal a persons sins EVEN IF THE PERSON GIVES THEM PERMISSION TO DO SO.

When does the seal of confession begin? My priest says it begins the moment a person approaches the priest and asks to for confession to be heard. If this is true then telling an auditorium of people that a penitent came to confession and said “bless me father for I have sinned it has been 20 years since my last confession” is a violation of the seal of confession and I believe a matter of excommunication.

I have done some “loose” investigation and have read that confession begins when a sinner says “bless me father for I have sinned” and ends with absolution.

However I may not be correct
two questions…(expert reply only please)
  1. At what part of the confession does the seal encompass?
  2. What is the punishment for breaking the seal of confession?
 
I also listened to Fr. Corapi’s conversion story…I beleive he actually had a re-verion. He was raised Catholic, fell BIG time into sin and far away from the Church and then came back after hitting rock bottom and becoming homeless.
I don’t think he broke his seal of confession, b/c he did not reveal the acutual sins of his father, just that he came to him for a confession.
I love & admire Fr. Corapi, he has been such an inspiration in my life.
St. Michael protect him:gopray2:
 
The seal of the confessional covers the sins of the penitent, the state of absolution of the penitent (if absolution was granted or not) and any personal information that was not obtained in a public forum.

Out of that, the only one Fr. Corapi might have volated is the length of time since his father’s previous confession.

But if that information was relayed to others in a public forum, for example, his father told that story himself to others, then that information is now public knowledge and not covered by the seal.
 
Maureen Fiore:
Yes, but I heard his conversion speech too and he never said he came from a different faith. He mentioned his mother as a devout Catholic and sent him a prayer to our Blessed Mother, Hail Mary. So, I would think he is a Catholic, but fell away during his 30yrs. living a rich and dangerous lifestyle. He became consumed with drugs and lost everything. That is when his mother told him to come home and he went to a old priest and made a good confession and realized then that he wanted to become a priest.
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Yes, he certainly was raised Catholic. I was just trying to add some extra interesting info.
 
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decn2b:
However I may not be correct
two questions…(expert reply only please)
  1. At what part of the confession does the seal encompass?
  2. What is the punishment for breaking the seal of confession?
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I’m no expert, but here are what I find to be the relevant canons:

**Can. 983 **§1. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.

§2. The interpreter, if there is one, and all others who in any way have knowledge of sins from confession are also obliged to observe secrecy.

Can. 1388 §1. A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; one who does so only indirectly is to be punished according to the gravity of the delict. §2. An interpreter and the others mentioned in ⇒ can. 983, §2 who violate the secret are to be punished with a just penalty, not excluding excommunication.

So that answers your second question. Unfortunately, I don’t see any specification of when the seal begins. Brendan’s explanation seems legitimate, though (that his father may have already made the information public).
 
I once heard a priest describe some desperate person who found solace in the Church and wondered… and one day many years later realized… he was describing himself…
 
The Seal of confession does continue after someone’s death,

but it may be that Fr Corapi’s father had recounted this event himself, publicly,

(I.e. outside of confession, telling people that he had said “bless me Fr…50 yrs”)

If that was the case, Fr Corapi is free to tell that ‘story’.
 
I trust that Father Corapi knew what he was doing when he talked about his father. I was surprised when he mentioned what his father said, but I am sure Fr. Corapi would have cleared such a thing, both with his own father, before he passed away, obviously, as well as a spiritual director.
 
The seal of Confession begins at the time the sinner makes the sign of the cross upon approaching the priest. Anything after this time is under the confessional seal including duration since last confession which if more than one year is a SIN. When a sinner recounts the story in public the priest is still bound by the seal. The seal is eternal and NOTHING can lift it not even permission from the sinner.

This has recently been discussed within the abuse cases in our church. The priest can NEVER reveal anything said from a confession. NEVER EVER EVER even if the sinner tells the whole world the priest cannot speak a word of it to anyone. Until someone tells me different I am sticking with this point.

That is what I believe but I will never hold Fr. Corapi “guilty” the man is a hero to me. But he is human.
 
not related to the discussion but to fr. corapi, to any shortwave
listeners, at 3:a.m. edt, you can listen to him give interesting
lectures on church topics. i believe it is the ewtn mhz.
have a good year. ali.
 
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