Is it a bad idea to ask my vocational director to hear my confession?

[migencluz]

If I’m discerning for priesthood and God wants me to be a priest, I’d end up a priest whether I confess to my vocational director or not. But considering that the vocational director is in direct contact with the bishop who will either take me in or reject me, is confessing to my vocational director a bad idea?

 

[KendraDZ1902]

Seal of Confession, sweetie. He can’t go telling your business.

 

[dans0622]

If I’m discerning for priesthood and God wants me to be a priest, I’d end up a priest whether I confess to my vocational director or not. But considering that the vocational director is in direct contact with the bishop who will either take me in or reject me, is confessing to my vocational director a bad idea?

Hello,

It is a bad idea. I doubt he would even allow you to confess to him, outside of a case of necessity.

A comparable situation is covered in canon law: “Can. 985 The director of novices and his associate and the rector of a seminary or other institute of education are not to hear the sacramental confessions of their students residing in the same house unless the students freely request it in particular cases.”

Dan

 

[dans0622]

I thought vocations directors weren’t allowed to hear Confessions? In my diocese our vocation director doesn’t have the faculties (or “rights” or whatever they’re called) to hear Confessions because it’s for “everybody’s protection” (what does that mean???)… :-/

Hello,

I’ve never heard of that before. Seems a bit extreme.

Dan

 

[andy4d]

That’s not a good idea.
I’m discerning at the moment and the vocation director told a group of us we were not to go to confession to him.
His reason was if we told him something in the closed forum he couldn’t use it, either to make a recommendation or to help us. This even applied to seminarians from the diocese as well.
The were groups from two dioceses there so we swapped and confessed to the other diocese vocation director instead.

 

[DCNBILL]

Don’t you have a spiritual director? He would be a good priest to use for Confession.

If you do not have one or have someone who is not a priest, then get a priest for a spiritual direction.

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

As a general rule avoid it.

If you go to confession anonymously a few times, don’t worry, he won’t remember unless you confess something horrendous. (I can tell you that most of us priests don’t realize who’s on the other side of the screen most of the time: I’ve had the experience of not realizing who it was, even with people close to me, till they identified themselves by saying something about my advice that clearly indicated how we knew each other outside.)

True he has the seal but you’re making his job more difficult if you make him your regular confessor as he needs to distinguish between what was heard in and out of confession. This is the reason religious superiors do not sit to here confessions in their own religious houses.