Just how inviolable is the confessional seal?

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Via clarification of turning oneself in as penance:

The prohibition of breaking the seal, also requires that the confessor may not require another (i.e. the penitent) to break it. This would occur if penitent were required to.incriminate themself.

ICXC NIKA
 
SeraficLeo said:
The Road to Canossa, sometimes called the Walk to Canossa or Humiliation of Canossa, refers to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV’s trek to Canossa Castle, Italy, where Pope Gregory VII was staying as the guest of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, at the height of the investiture controversy in January 1077 to seek absolution
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Not sure how this applies, or is relevant or responsive to the questions raised here… 🤷‍♂️
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PatK63 said:
The seal of confession prevents the priest from revealing the sin if the person can be reasonably known or the person if the sin can reasonably known.

It is theoretically possible that the one confessing can reveal something but not confess a sin. In that case the priest could reveal it to authorities. Admittedly this is hair splitting and the priest would only do this after much prayer.

I have heard in the history of the church there are very few cases where the seal was broken!
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Actually that is not correct. It is not what the penitent confesses during Confession that cannot be revealed. Nothing that is said during Confession can be revealed
 
???
I know an Irish priest whose mother confessed loving Mary too much. He told the story because there is no sin there. I believe your understanding of the seal of the confessional is incorrect. Although I think a lot of priest will not reveal anything to be on the safe side.
 
PatK63 said:
???
I know an Irish priest whose mother confessed loving Mary too much. He told the story because there is no sin there. I believe your understanding of the seal of the confessional is incorrect. Although I think a lot of priest will not reveal anything to be on the safe side.
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Can. 983 §1 The sacramental seal is inviolable. Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion.

§2 An interpreter, if there is one, is also obliged to observe this secret, as are all others who in any way whatever have come to a knowledge of sins from a confession.

Can. 984 §1 The confessor is wholly forbidden to use knowledge acquired in confession to the detriment of the penitent, even when all danger of disclosure is excluded.
 
StephenBales said:
Are there any circumstances in which the seal can be licitly broken?
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No! There are absolutely none.
StephenBales said:
Say, if someone in confession reveals suicidal thoughts and intentions for that very night. Would it count as breaking the seal to alert the police or their parents or other people with charge over them?
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Yes, it would break the seal. It cannot be done.
StephenBales said:
Or if someone were to confess intentions and plans to commit a public violent attack, and they were trying to get around the sin and confess it in advance (I realize that isn’t licit or valid, but I know people try it because…well, movies 😂). Would the priest be obligated to alert authorities, and would that count as breaking the seal of confession?
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No, the confessor cannot break the seal.

It seems to me people are constantly trying to come up with the strangest scenario they may be able to think up. Then ask can the priest break the seal of confession in these circumstances. The simple answer is no.

A priest can never reveal what has been confessed to him. Indeed, he cannot even reveal a person confessed to him.

Canon law allows a translator to be used if the confessor and penitent do not speak the same language. The translator is bound by the same seal of confession of the priest.

If you are the parish gossip and are waiting your turn for confession and you overhear the parish loudmouth confessing sins to the deaf priest you cannot tell anybody what you overhear or that you overheard it.

The seal of the confession is inviolable.
 
When it states not to betray the penitent, it means one who is confessing a sin!
 
SeraficLeo said:
A priest does, however, have the right to impose penance. A priest may make it a condition for absolution (the penance) that a person turn themselves into the police.
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No the priest can’t make a penance a condition for absolution. The only condition is true penitence by the confessor for their sin. If the priest senses there is none then he is obligated to deny absolution.
 
PatK63 said:
When it states not to betray the penitent, it means one who is confessing a sin!
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Thistle’s understanding of this issue is correct, as shown by the posted canon law.

If I go in and tell a priest that I did such and such sexual thing with my husband because I didn’t know it was wrong, and the priest tells me “You didn’t sin because you didn’t know it was wrong”, he’s NOT allowed to get up in the pulpit next week and tell the congregation that TB confessed this but it wasn’t a sin so he’s allowed to share it with the world.

Or if someone with scruples goes in and confesses some tiny thing that isn’t a sin and the priest explains to them it’s not a sin, he’s likewise not allowed to get up and announce that Scrupulous Person confessed stepping on a sidewalk crack but that wasn’t a sin so he’s allowed to tell the world the story to make a point in his homily.

It’s my understanding that a priest should not even be revealing that he heard a specific person’s confession, whether the identity of the person is me, Scrupulous Person or his own mother.

The Irish priest meant well but, aside from the fact that it’s a bit of a conflict of interest to have your parent going to confession to you unless there is no other priest around anywhere (which I doubt was the case), he should not have framed that as him revealing something said in confession. It was wrong. My guess is that his mother may have expressed this to him at other times or told him it was okay if he shared the story, but it gave a very wrong impression to the congregation.
 
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We agree to disagree. I have discussed this with many priest. Only sins and sinners can’t be disclosed when the two are connected.
 
How many priests do you know who go around revealing things that people said in the confessional that “aren’t sins”? Does this happen often?

I would certainly hope this doesn’t happen regularly where you are. If so, I would be afraid to go to confession there.

Is there a priest in the house who can speak to this issue?
@edward_george @inthepew
 
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Actually and I hate to sound cliche-ist and say it happened in a movie but what would be a very difficult scenario was, what if someone confessed they had spiked cyanide poison in some punch but the people had not been able to drink it yet but might on the next day. What to do? This would be the worse of scenario but of course, in the movie, it was made clear, the Priest still could not violate the trust.
 
Victoria33 said:
Actually and I hate to sound cliche-ist and say it happened in a movie but what would be a very difficult scenario was, what if someone confessed they had spiked cyanide poison in some punch but the people had not been able to drink it yet but might on the next day. What to do? This would be the worse of scenario but of course, in the movie, it was made clear, the Priest still could not violate the trust.
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I could be wrong but I think the priest could alert the right people of this situation but cannot say who did it.
 
It doesn’t happen often because priest are extremely careful. I have heard a couple borderline cases. Pastor said viewing porn on the internet is running rampant in our parish. I could have know someone who went to him for confession. Another priest said to a grade school mass a lot of you confess not obeying your parents. I would have not said either thing but both were done with the best of intentions.
 
Those general statements are not revealing something specific from a specific confession.

On this forum we say, “A lot of people confess masturbation” or “Kids generally confess disobeying their parents, being mean to their siblings etc.” These are just generally known facts. Maybe the priest could have worded that a little better, but it’s different from saying “A specific person said X to me in confession”.
 
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