How do they know you went to confession

[taylormcbee]

I was looking at a parish I attended a couple of times and where my ex GF’s Family goes , i was looking at the confirmation requirement and it says they must attend the advent and Lent penance service and I am wondering isn’t that where you go to confess , where there are more priest so confessions can be heard more efficiently. I thought confession was something no one was supposed to know. Maybe I am confused. How do they know.
Thanks
Taylor

 

[WingsOfEagles]

They aren’t allowed to share the details of your confession, but I think it is fine for the priest to confirm that you attended.

 

[DSJJ]

No one is supposed to know what you confessed. I don’t think it matters if anybody knows you went to confession. It’s actually one of the precepts of the church. If your catholic then I know your going to confession one time or another. I wouldn’t think it mattered if I happen to see you in a line. If it does bother you though, make an appointment.

 

[Newbie2]

That one went to confession or not is not a private matter…in “regular” confession, if I’m ahead of you in line waiting, you know I went to confession.

The privacy refers to what is confessed; that is a matter between you and the priest and the Almighty.

 

[Corki]

I was looking at a parish I attended a couple of times and where my ex GF’s Family goes , i was looking at the confirmation requirement and it says they must attend the advent and Lent penance service and I am wondering isn’t that where you go to confess , where there are more priest so confessions can be heard more efficiently. I thought confession was something no one was supposed to know. Maybe I am confused. How do they know.
Thanks
Taylor

As others have mentioned, it it not necessary to maintain confidentiatlity about going to Confession. Only the contents. Back when I was in school, all of the students in each class all lined up once a month for Confession. There’s nothing secret about that.

That being said, it doesn’t sound like the parish was requiring the students to go to Confession, only to attend the penance services. Going to the service doesn’t mean that everyone there will get in line for Confession at the given time.

 

[HisIsTheCrown]

I was looking at a parish I attended a couple of times and where my ex GF’s Family goes , i was looking at the confirmation requirement and it says they must attend the advent and Lent penance service and I am wondering isn’t that where you go to confess , where there are more priest so confessions can be heard more efficiently. I thought confession was something no one was supposed to know. Maybe I am confused. How do they know.
Thanks
Taylor

I suppose you are required to go but they wont ask. I do not think that any priest may say whether you went to confession. It would be against the secrecy of confession.

 

[LilyM]

I suppose you are required to go but they wont ask. I do not think that any priest may say whether you went to confession. It would be against the secrecy of confession.

No it isn’t. The whole world knows not only that Pope Benedict goes to confession, but even who exactly who his (officially appointed) confessor is. It’s not something that needs to be secret.

How on earth could a priest be exempt from testifying in court about stuff they were told confidentially in confession without saying who confessed to them?

 

[HisIsTheCrown]

No it isn’t. The whole world knows not only that Pope Benedict goes to confession, but even who exactly who his (officially appointed) confessor is. It’s not something that needs to be secret.

How on earth could a priest be exempt from testifying in court about stuff they were told confidentially in confession without saying who confessed to them?

That is a court and police problem not the priest’s problem.
As for the Pope I do not think anybody know when, where, how and how many times he goes to confession or even if He goes to the Official Confessor.

 

[LilyM]

That is a court and police problem not the priest’s problem.
As for the Pope I do not think anybody know when, where, how and how many times he goes to confession or even if He goes to the Official Confessor.

Of course he does! His Holiness has appointed the man for that purpose among others. I suppose you’re not sure he sees his personal physician when he is I’ll either.

The relevant canon states that a priest may not use ‘knowledge acquired IN confession’. As has been pointed out, the identity of a penitent is something anyone who sees that person walk into or out of the confessional has. It is not knowledge acquired IN the confessional. In fact being that lots of people confess anonymously, it is something fellow
parishioners can know easily while the priest remains ignorant!

 

[Irishgal49]

They aren’t allowed to share the details of your confession, but I think it is fine for the priest to confirm that you attended.

My priest said that is a violation of the confessional. You cannot say, “Lorrie attended Confession today” unless Lorrie says that is OK.

 

[babochka]

I was looking at a parish I attended a couple of times and where my ex GF’s Family goes , i was looking at the confirmation requirement and it says they must attend the advent and Lent penance service and I am wondering isn’t that where you go to confess , where there are more priest so confessions can be heard more efficiently. I thought confession was something no one was supposed to know. Maybe I am confused. How do they know.
Thanks
Taylor

Attendance at the Advent and Lent penance services does not necessarily mean that they have gone to private confession. Usually, there is a prayer service with an examination of conscience done as a group, followed by individual confessions, if the person chooses. If you do not individually confess, you have not received the sacrament, but you have still attended the service.

 

[acadian]

I suppose you are required to go but they wont ask. I do not think that any priest may say whether you went to confession. It would be against the secrecy of confession.

Back when my younger child was preparing for First cOnfession and First Communion, we were out of town when the class had their First Confession service.

The [edited] DRE hounded us before First Communion to make SURE that my son had been to confession before receiving Jesus. I would bet money on the fact that the priest confirmed this sacramental event for the DRE.

BTW, I am not unsympathetic to the position of the DRE. I imagine that it gets discouraging to see the abuses year after year… I know she was just trying to do what she thought was her job.

 

[Corki]

Back when my younger child was preparing for First cOnfession and First Communion, we were out of town when the class had their First Confession service.

The [edited] DRE hounded us before First Communion to make SURE that my son had been to confession before receiving Jesus. I would bet money on the fact that the priest confirmed this sacramental event for the DRE.

BTW, I am not unsympathetic to the position of the DRE. I imagine that it gets discouraging to see the abuses year after year… I know she was just trying to do what she thought was her job.

We do that too. All of the First Communion students and those preparing for Confirmation must attend Confession. We usually have two sessions specially for them and they sign in. There is nothing wrong with requiring them to go. You just can’t require them to actually** participate **in the Sacrament. If a child were to go into the Confession and say, “Father, I am here because Mrs. Mean CCE teacher made me come and I don’t want to confess.” there’s nothing we could do about that.

The big “catch 22” is that if the person doesn’t actually confess, there is no seal. There’s nothing to keep Father from later telling the parents and teacher what the kids said. (not that he’s ever done that )

 

[Pug]

We do that too. All of the First Communion students and those preparing for Confirmation must attend Confession. We usually have two sessions specially for them and they sign in. There is nothing wrong with requiring them to go. You just can’t require them to actually** participate **in the Sacrament. If a child were to go into the Confession and say, “Father, I am here because Mrs. Mean CCE teacher made me come and I don’t want to confess.” there’s nothing we could do about that.

The big “catch 22” is that if the person doesn’t actually confess, there is no seal. There’s nothing to keep Father from later telling the parents and teacher what the kids said. (not that he’s ever done that )

I’m not sure a priest could say which kids did not go to confession, since this list by deduction would reveal the kids that did. I think that might be a betrayal of those kids that did confess.

It’s like if for some reason the police know a parishioner came and confessed murder yesterday, and then the police ask the priest if so-and-so confessed yesterday, and he keeps answering no for most of the people, as this questioning continues it reveals the person who confessed murder.

I can’t imagine a priest could ever participate in such a scene. It reveals the penitent. I’m sure they are trained to by habit to never answer this type of stuff.

Maybe I’m wrong. But I’ve been told that priests can’t say who had been in their line, even.

 

[Corki]

I’m not sure a priest could say which kids did not go to confession, since this list by deduction would reveal the kids that did. I think that might be a betrayal of those kids that did confess.

The canon law requirement for the seal of Confession is that the priest may not, in word or deed, betray **the content **of the confession or to cause detriment to the penitent. In the case of First Communion kids, the are supposed to go to receive sacramental confession before receiving FHC. If 20 kids line up for Confession and one decides to sit mute in the Confessional instead of participating in the Sacrament, the priest telling the teacher does not betray anything about the other 19 except that they did what everybody thought they were doing anyway.

It’s like if for some reason the police know a parishioner came and confessed murder yesterday, and then the police ask the priest if so-and-so confessed yesterday, and he keeps answering no for most of the people, as this questioning continues it reveals the person who confessed murder.

Even in this scenario, how would the police know that someone confessed murder unless the seal had already been broken? And why would a priest even start playing a game of 20 questions with a policman? Going to Confession is a public act; what is said during Confession is protected under the seal.

I can’t imagine a priest could ever participate in such a scene. It reveals the penitent. I’m sure they are trained to by habit to never answer this type of stuff.

Maybe I’m wrong. But I’ve been told that priests can’t say who had been in their line, even

I agree that it might be very imprudent for a priest to engage in a conversation like that and there might even be another rule about it. But it’s not because of the Seal of Confession.

 

[Evan]

I know when my daughter was to receive her first communion, the DRE said that the diocesan requirements were that confession must be made available to all the communicants. She did not know who confessed from who just went in a talked with father. I’m sure some of the kids may not have even reached the age of discernment (and some never will).

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Unless you confess face-to-face to whom is conferring confirmation on you, they don’t know. If you receive a sacrament while in the state of mortal sin (aside from Baptism, Penance and Extreme Unction if you have the ability to confess, but choose not to), you do not receive the sacramental graces from the sacrament, and you commit another mortal sin called sacrilege. Once you are restored to a state of sanctifying grace, you are infused with the sacramental graces.

 

[Pug]

The canon law requirement for the seal of Confession is that the priest may not, in word or deed, betray **the content **of the confession or to cause detriment to the penitent. In the case of First Communion kids, the are supposed to go to receive sacramental confession before receiving FHC. If 20 kids line up for Confession and one decides to sit mute in the Confessional instead of participating in the Sacrament, the priest telling the teacher does not betray anything about the other 19 except that they did what everybody thought they were doing anyway.

Canon law does not specify “betray the content”. It specifies “betray … a penitent”. Of course, I can’t know what they mean by that without asking a priest or a lawyer. Fr. Serpa on this site seems to say he can’t say who has been in his line, but perhaps you are right and this is some other rule, and has nothing to do with the seal, even thought the context of his response is the seal. Or, perhaps I misunderstand Fr. Serpa. Also, I’ve been told that this seal covers a person who does not receive absolution, so long as they went to confession (the sacrament).

Truly, having a priest nark on me that I went to confession but didn’t get absolved would be a betrayal in my book. I had wacko parents. That is exactly the sort of thing I would not have wanted told to them. Neither to my teacher. But that all hinges on *my *understanding of betrayal. Perhaps these fall not under the seal but under the other canon, the one about detriment of the penitent. I really don’t know.

Also, I possibly get what you say about the 19 kids, since it was already known by other means than the priest that they went into a confessional booth. I guess I still don’t want it known if I actually confessed or if I just talked to him, and that isn’t public.

 

[jmcrae]

I was looking at a parish I attended a couple of times and where my ex GF’s Family goes , i was looking at the confirmation requirement and it says they must attend the advent and Lent penance service and I am wondering isn’t that where you go to confess , where there are more priest so confessions can be heard more efficiently. I thought confession was something no one was supposed to know. Maybe I am confused. How do they know.
Thanks
Taylor

They don’t; they just trust that, having told you about the requirement, that you will do your best to fulfill it. The only person you could possibly lie to in this situation is God since it would not be humanly possible to check up on something like that, and I’m pretty sure people don’t want to lie to God, so they will do their utmost to make sure they get there.

 

[Corki]

Also, I’ve been told that this seal covers a person who does not receive absolution, so long as they went to confession (the sacrament).

Well, that’s absolutely true. The seal “attaches” as soon as the Confession begins and is not dependent on absolution. But I was talking about a kid who came to “Confession day” but didn’t actually go to Confession. The seal hasn’t attached yet.

Truly, having a priest nark on me that I went to confession but didn’t get absolved would be a betrayal in my book. I had wacko parents. That is exactly the sort of thing I would not have wanted told to them. Neither to my teacher.

That would break the seal since you actually went to Confession.

Also, I possibly get what you say about the 19 kids, since it was already known by other means than the priest that they went into a confessional booth. I guess I still don’t want it known if I actually confessed or if I just talked to him, and that isn’t public.

Sure. But you can ask the priest to keep a conversation confidential without invoking the seal of Confession. The seal is VERY serious but part of that is because of the Sacramental nature of Confession. If you go to a priest to get advice, it’s perfectly acceptable to expect confidentiality but it isn’t Sacramental.