- priests don’t break the seal. They have been known to die before doing so.
It has happened that priests have broken the seal actually - but it is very rare, and yes, close to all priests would rather die. It is “in their blood”. And they would be obliged to do so. Breaking the seal would lead to excommunication even if it happened under torture, or with a gun to their heads. It is one of the gravest crimes in the Church.
So what I’m saying is that nobody should ever fear a priest breaking the seal - in practice, it never happens.
As to the specific case, no, he did not break the seal. Priests are hesitant to discuss things that was said during a confession with the penitent afterwards even if the penitent initiates it, in fear that people may overhear them, and simply because “what happens in the confessional stays in the confessional.” However, I have spoken to a priest once about something I mentioned in confession, and it was okay - it was behind closed doors, since it was during spiritual direction. It is rare, but does not constitute breaking the seal. And the seal should still apply - it is brought up in the context of confession, which should mean it’s still in the internal forum (though feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, anyone).
A priest is actually also allowed to mention things he has experienced in the confessional, but they
very rarely do so, out of the danger of accidentally identifying the person. One example would be the following:
Priest: “People, you won’t believe what the first person who confessed to me today said! …”
Visitor who comes to the party thirty minutes later: “Oh hello Father! I must have been the first person who confessed to you today!”
The first does not constitute breaking the seal, since it was made anonymous. The second, however, changed the nature of the first. The priest would still be excommunicated, even if it were accidental. This made-up (I guess, though you never know) story is often used as an example of how dangerous it is to challenge the borders on this. Generally, priests find it best to avoid such stories at all - but I have heard one from a priest, when there was absolutely no way I could know or identify the penitent. It was a cute story from confirmation class, by the way, not something grave. I did however later ask another priests I know if even such telling of stories is allowed, and he said yes, but gave the example above to explain why you’ll rarely hear them. In addition, it might lead some people to tell such stories are frequently told in the “back room” (which could not be further from the truth), causing people to fear going to confession.
