G
Greg27
Guest
In my understanding the seal of confession is not breakable on pain of excommunication. Perhaps a priest under extreme circumstances may feel they could break it for a very grave reason of conscience, but it would almost certainly result in their excommunication and laicisation, so I doubt most would even entertain the idea. Generally in court priests are not expected to testify evidence they heard from confessions; they are granted the same privelage that doctors have in regard to patient medical records and lawyers have in regards to privelage, and judges in fact have criticised priests who violated the seal (at least in cases before the English courts in the Anglican Church, as far as I remember).