Just how absolute is the seal of the confessional?

[cocodepot]

I am a Catholic, and a published author who wants to make sure I have the correct information in my suspense novel. I’d like to ask this question two ways:

• If a Catholic confesses to a murder, but admits to having NO remorse, and is refused absolution, can that priest testify at his trial?
• Or, if the penitent is a non-Catholic confessing to a crime, can the priest testify at his trial?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

If a Catholic confesses to a murder, but admits to having NO remorse, and is refused absolution, can that priest testify at his trial?

No. The priest cannot reveal anything he has learned in the confessional. Even if he cannot grant absolution to the penitent, he cannot violate the sacramental seal.

cocodepot:

Or, if the penitent is a non-Catholic confessing to a crime, can the priest testify at his trial?

A priest does not interview penitents to find out whether or not the sacramental seal applies to their confessions. If the person is someone who starts out saying he is not a Catholic, the priest likely would explain that he cannot hear his sacramental confession and suggest alternative forms of counseling (which would fall under the ordinary rules of privileged communication and not the sacramental seal). Since this is an area in which the line between what counts as privileged communication and what counts as sacramental confession is a bit more blurred – particularly if a non-Catholic murderer, even after being told that the priest could not hear his confession, blurted out his crime anyway – I recommend calling your local diocese and asking for a referral to a local priest or theologian who can be of more assistance.

As a rule of thumb though, I can only recommend erring on the side of the absolute sanctity of the seal of the confessional and on the likelihood that a faithful Catholic priest would not want to risk violating that seal by testifying. It would make for more realistic fiction for your priest character to insist to your law enforcement characters that it is their responsibility to prove their case through other means than reliance on his testimony about what may well have been a sacramental confession.