Is there any actual known case of a priest breaking the Seal of Confession?

[gardenswithkids]

deb1:

I was told in RCIA class that they would be excommunicated if they ever broke the seal of confession. DOes anyone else know if that is true?

I think that by the very fact that he breaks the seal of the confession he is excommunicated. It does not need to be formally filed; the fact that they knowingly break such a sacred vow, they excommunicate themselves. I don’t know how that impacts their ability to administer the sacraments, etc. if charges are not formally filed and they are not removed by a bishop.

Edit: Your question had me wondering if I am correct about this and it’s implications for administering the sacraments. I submitted a question regarding this to the “ask an apoligist” board.

 

[tuopaolo]

RyanL:

I highly suspect a priest I confessed to in college of divulging some of the contents of my confession to a friend of mine. My sin was particularly bad, and affected my friend greatly (the way I acted, I’m not sure I should really refer to him as a friend…). All I know is that what happened was a secret, and two days later my friend had an anonymous note left on his desk revealing what had happened. The priest was the only one who knew.

I don’t hold it against the priest (who granted me absolution), but this is the only such instance I have ever encountered. In his defense, he was a very young priest. I’m sure he was doing what he thought God wanted him to do. May God forgive him if what I think happened actually happened.

RyanL

Ryan, probably someone else left the note. Probably, someone else found out by some other means.

If one thinks that a particular priest will not respect the seal, then if one happens to go to confession with him, one is not obliged to confess any sin to him that one thinks he will break the seal about and the confession will still be valid.

I think there have been a couple cases recently (recently meaning like within the last 50 years) where a priest broke the seal. This is what I’ve read on some websites or news stories but it’s nothing that the Holy See has officially confirmed AFAIK. This is unfortunate as I think prior to this such cases where practically unheard of.

 

[DavidFilmer]

I’m checking back in to see the responses to my post here… thanks everyone. Many folks have reinforced the idea that a priest cannot, under any circumstances, divulge what he hears in the Confessional, and priests have been persecuted for this.

A couple of folks have mentioned personal suspicions or rumors. But nobody has mentioned a specific *verifiable *case where this has happened.

If a priest ever did this, it woud be a BIG DEAL. It would make the papers. It would cause a massive scandal.

The fact that nobody (so far) has been able to cite such a specific and verifiable example is good news for Catholics and bad news for anti-Catholics who sometimes imply that priests blackmail the Faithful.

 

[alih]

dave, the answer is yes. i cannot give you specifics re: names, addresses and dates but the event was carried in the newspapers some years back. it involved an individual who in the confessional confessed the crime to a priest who in turn reported it to the authorities,
the priest’s action was co;ndoned by the church saying to the affect that the seal of confession did not apply in this case.
a news search could possible uncover the actual case. have a good year. alih.

 

[Rand_Al_Thor]

I don’t know of any cases where the seal was violated, but I remember that about 10 or 12 years ago or so there was a murder in Eugene (OR). The murderer confessed to a priest and a couple of detectives taped the confession. There was, needless to say, a giant uproar among the Catholics in Oregon. I don’t remember how everything turned out, but I think they actually did allow the tape to be used in court.

In Christ,
Rand

 

[Elliott]

tuopaolo:

If one thinks that a particular priest will not respect the seal, then if one happens to go to confession with him, one is not obliged to confess any sin to him that one thinks he will break the seal about and the confession will still be valid.

Are you sure, can you support this?

 

[Genesis315]

Towards the end of the fourteenth century, Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia, ordered St. John Nepomucene to be drowned in the river Moldau. The king had tried to make the Saint reveal to him what the queen had said in confession, and the saint had firmly refused, in spite of inducements and threats. Hundreds of years after, during the process of canonization, the saint’s tongue was found incorrupt, and looked like a living tongue!!

 

[DavidFilmer]

Rand Al'Thor:

I don’t know of any cases where the seal was violated, but I remember that about 10 or 12 years ago or so there was a murder in Eugene (OR). The murderer confessed to a priest and a couple of detectives taped the confession. There was, needless to say, a giant uproar among the Catholics in Oregon. I don’t remember how everything turned out, but I think they actually did allow the tape to be used in court.

I live in Portland, very close to Eugene, and this issue was a Big Deal in my area.

The priest visited the inmate at the jail, where he was separated from the inmate by thick, solid glass. To communicate, they use an intercomm system (in the form of a telephone handset). Unknown to the priest, these conversations are routinely recorded.

When news of this recording became known, the Archdiocese filed suit to have the recording destroyed. The prosecution petitioned to get the tapes and possibly have them used as evidence. The judge ordered the recording sealed and eventually destroyed. It was never heard in Court, and I never saw any news story that said that ANYONE had ever listened to the tape.

Of course, the priest was not at fault, since he was not aware his conversation was being recorded. So, although the Seal may have been violated, it was not by the priest’s doing.