How do you confess in a small town?

[CharleeWY]

A friend of mine who grew up in the Catholic faith feels she is in a bad spot. She is married with two children but four years ago she had an affair with another man. Her good friend is dying of cancer and she wants to go back to church, but also wants to shed this guilt she’s been hanging onto. She is no longer in contact with the other man, and hasn’t been since the affair stopped. She and her husband have healed everything and are doing well. She has come to me to ask me what to do. The priest in our small town knows everyone, and so she is ashamed to go to him and confess. Would it be a sin if we went to church in a neighboring town and confessed? Please lead us in the right direction.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Before answering your question directly, I must say that your friend should not worry about confessing to her parish priest. The seal of the confessional is absolute, which means that the priest cannot tell anyone anything about her confession. And most priests have dealt with very serious sins before. They do not judge penitents and they try very hard to put individual confessions out of their mind so that they do not even remember who confessed what. That said, if it would make your friend feel more comfortable, she is free to confess to any priest she wishes. If she does not want to confess to the parish priest, she is free to go to a priest in another parish or town for her confession.