Hypothetical: Person Confesses to a Priest About Planting a Bomb

[nsper7]

I think this has been discussed before, but I was wondering the hypothetical on this: what would/should/could a Catholic Priest do if someone, in Confession and thus under the absolute Seal of the Confessional, confessed that they had planted a bomb somewhere that would kill a lot of people. Obviously, the person refuses to accept a Penance of disarming the bomb/alerting proper authorities.

Other than withholding if they felt the person was truly contrite, what could the Priest do? My understanding is, under Canon Law, they would incur immediate excommunication if they acted on the information in anyway (i.e. alerting authorities, trying to clear the area of bystanders, etc.).

EDIT: Obviously, this is a hypothetical question and, also, as a (Church-willing) future Priest, I would hope never to be in this situation.

 

[LilyM]

This is what Canon law has to say:

'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. 984 §1. A confessor is prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confession** to the detriment of the penitent** even when any danger of revelation is excluded.’

I see some wiggle room here. May be my legal training

Anonymously alerting authorities - without revealing your identity, the identity of the person who told you, or that the information was obtained via the confessional - does not seem to me in any way to be a betrayal of the penitent. Nor something that would be to the penitent’s detriment - unless they were inept enough to leave evidence for the police to find, in which case be it on their own heads.

I seem to remember a movie where the classic ‘penitent tells priest that the communion wine is poisoned - should he use it and drink it’ scenario was raised, and a priest said something to the effect that there was nothing wrong with accidentally-on-purpose knocking the cup of poisoned wine over and spilling it!

I’d think there might be some way of accidentally-on-purpose ‘innocently’ discovering the bomb under some pretext in such a case as yours.

In reality it’s verging on the impossible to imagine that someone who possessed enough contrition to go to the confessional would be unwilling to at least themselves defuse the bomb.

Another loophole occurs - if someone comes in but isn’t in fact contrite - are they really seeking confession in such a case? Is what they say perhaps no longer under the seal?

 

[centurionguard]

This is what Canon law has to say:

'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. 984 §1. A confessor is prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confession** to the detriment of the penitent** even when any danger of revelation is excluded.’

I see some wiggle room here. May be my legal training

Anonymously alerting authorities - without revealing your identity, the identity of the person who told you, or that the information was obtained via the confessional - does not seem to me in any way to be a betrayal of the penitent. Nor something that would be to the penitent’s detriment - unless they were inept enough to leave evidence for the police to find, in which case be it on their own heads.

I seem to remember a movie where the classic ‘penitent tells priest that the communion wine is poisoned - should he use it and drink it’ scenario was raised, and a priest said something to the effect that there was nothing wrong with accidentally-on-purpose knocking the cup of poisoned wine over and spilling it!

I’d think there might be some way of accidentally-on-purpose ‘innocently’ discovering the bomb under some pretext in such a case as yours.

In reality it’s verging on the impossible to imagine that someone who possessed enough contrition to go to the confessional would be unwilling to at least themselves defuse the bomb.

Another loophole occurs - if someone comes in but isn’t in fact contrite - are they really seeking confession in such a case? Is what they say perhaps no longer under the seal?

Expounding on the priest’s wiggle room that you expressed. I think it’s fair to state that if there is hypothetically multiple lives in jeopardy in the case of the penitent seeking absolution stating that he just set a bomb, it would be the priest duty to find out from the penitent where the bomb was set so the priest could inform the police that a bomb was planted to avoid multiple deaths and injury. Secondly; if deaths were involved as result of the penitents request for absolution, the priest could inform the penitent that as a sign of the penitents solemn penance and full absolution, the priest could make the “suggestion” that the penitent inform the police of his guilt. Full absolution is dependent upon the criteria of the degree of contrite sorrow of having offended God and His commandment (“Thou Shalt Not Kill”) Correct me if I wrong in stating this.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Expounding on the priest’s wiggle room that you expressed. I think it’s fair to state that if there is hypothetically multiple lives in jeopardy in the case of the penitent seeking absolution stating that he just set a bomb, it would be the priest duty to find out from the penitent where the bomb was set so the priest could inform the police that a bomb was planted to avoid multiple deaths and injury. Secondly; if deaths were involved as result of the penitents request for absolution, the priest could inform the penitent that as a sign of the penitents solemn penance and full absolution, the priest could make the “suggestion” that the penitent inform the police of his guilt. Full absolution is dependent upon the criteria of the degree of contrite sorrow of having offended God and His commandment (“Thou Shalt Not Kill”) Correct me if I wrong in stating this.

To be absolved one must repent the deed and make restitution to the best of his ability. If the bomb has not gone off this would seem to require that the penitent prevent it from going off. The penitent cannot be forgiven a sin while he is committing it.

 

[teachccd]

I think this has been discussed before, but I was wondering the hypothetical on this: what would/should/could a Catholic Priest do if someone, in Confession and thus under the absolute Seal of the Confessional, confessed that they had planted a bomb somewhere that would kill a lot of people. Obviously, the person refuses to accept a Penance of disarming the bomb/alerting proper authorities.

Other than withholding if they felt the person was truly contrite, what could the Priest do? My understanding is, under Canon Law, they would incur immediate excommunication if they acted on the information in anyway (i.e. alerting authorities, trying to clear the area of bystanders, etc.).

EDIT: Obviously, this is a hypothetical question and, also, as a (Church-willing) future Priest, I would hope never to be in this situation.

I saw a movie years ago whereby a man went to confession and told the priest that he was sexually molesting his own daughter. This sickened the priest even more so since he knew the family. In the movie he was to meet the couple for dinner. At the restaurant the wife showed up without the husband. The priest asked where her husband was and she replied that he was going to spend the evening with their daughter. The priest knowing that he was under the sacramental seal was agonizing over what he felt might be going on. He started to sweat and said that he didn’t feel well. He urged the woman to go home immediately and to not ask him why. She refused at first but he persisted. When she got home she caught her husband in the act of molestation.

While this was just a Hollywood movie, it did maintain the fact that nothing said in the confessional is to be revealed. Your senerio is quite hypothetical and probably would never actually occur but if it did the priest would have to use the same tactics as the priest did in the illustration above. It is a tough position indeed and I would not want to be there. Thank God that there are men, like yourself. who are willing to do the work of God regardless of your own trials and tribulations. God bless you…teachccd

 

[Coder]

To be absolved one must repent the deed and make restitution to the best of his ability. If the bomb has not gone off this would seem to require that the penitent prevent it from going off. The penitent cannot be forgiven a sin while he is committing it.

Yes, that pretty much hits the nail on the head. A penitent must always seek the good and would desire that any harm be prevented by anonymous reveleation of the bomb location.

Well done.