Privacy of Confessions vs. Protecting Priests

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Here is a case. A penitent who is a victim of sexual abuse, whether this victim is a child or a naive adult, goes to confession. The penitent freely mentions that the abuser is a priest known by the confessor. Question: Can the confessor reprimand the priest abuser? I believe there is an argument in favor of this reprimand: Canon 983 uses the terminology: “…betray in any way a penitent… and for any reason.” And Canon 984 says that the knowledge received in the confessional cannot be used “to the detriment of the penitent.” This seems to mean that whatever is in “detriment” or “betrays” the penitent is what falls under the seal. If this is the proper interpretation, it would seem the confessor has the right (or maybe even the obligation) to reprimand the sexual abuser.
 
There was a post recently regarding confession eavesdroppers. Maybe that is the case here. It could be that this particular person asked if they could meet in the other room because she/he was concerned that their confession would be overheard.

Also, I have never not received absolution. I didn’t even know that the priest had the option to withhold absolution.

I rarely go to confession in the actual confessional. The confessional at our church is actually quite nice, however I must say it is still the scariest room on earth. Just walking into that room gives me such anxiety that I can hardly breathe. I always schedule a private confession with the priest of my choice in his office. At 1 parish I went to, since the Priest and I were the only ones there, we just sat in one of the pews.
 
Maureen1125 said:
There was a post recently regarding confession eavesdroppers. Maybe that is the case here. It could be that this particular person asked if they could meet in the other room because she/he was concerned that their confession would be overheard.

Also, I have never not received absolution. I didn’t even know that the priest had the option to withhold absolution.

I rarely go to confession in the actual confessional. The confessional at our church is actually quite nice, however I must say it is still the scariest room on earth. Just walking into that room gives me such anxiety that I can hardly breathe. I always schedule a private confession with the priest of my choice in his office. At 1 parish I went to, since the Priest and I were the only ones there, we just sat in one of the pews.
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I too have great anxiety of the confessional due to an incident when I was younger. I also go in the priest’s office. There I can be relaxed.
 
i once did confession in the storage closet of the parish hall kitchen.
 
JReducation said:
Unfortunately, there were cases that involved the confessional.

As for the privacy . . . the canon is not as concerned with the privacy as it is with the avoidance of scandal. The idea of having a place to hear confession eliminates the excuse to seek some hidden nook where scandal can be given. There is another canon that addresses the issue of the seal of confession; but that’s another kind of privacy.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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I don’t think it’s possible to have a fully private confession. You pretty much have to choose in the first place to be private to the priest or private to the crowd. You either go to a scheduled confession time and have a screen (so the priest doesn’t see) or you make an appointment if you don’t want others to know.

Most of the time there’s a line for the confessional, and people know where that line is, so you’re probably going to be seen in that line, so really it doesn’t matter if someone “sees you” actually in confession. 99% of the people who know whats going on at all will never even mention it because they know what it means.
 
On a recent pilgrimage, I went to confession at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. One of the local Franciscan friars offered to hear confessions in English, and he stood off to the side of where we were celebrating Mass. People just stood in line, in the open, and went up to the priest to say confession. He leaned close so we could whisper. There were hundreds of people in the area and nobody had any problem. I also went to confession at the church of the Holy Sepulchure (on Christmas day, yet) in an confessional room about 30 feet from the actual sepulchure. There was no screen, just a kneeler in front of the priest. There was a door to this room but no glass that I can recall.

What we are used to in the U.S. isn’t necessarily the standard in the universal Church.

I don’t think that the event of a person going to confession is required to be private–only the actual confession itself.
 
At a World Youth Day event, I saw a priest fashion a makeshift confessional out of sheets.
 
Gaudium86 said:
I recently went for confession at my local church, and I was surprised to find the parochial vicar hearing confessions in the “cry room” instead of in the confessional as usual. (For those not familiar with the term, a “cry room” is a soundproof, glass-fronted room that allows parents with small children to observe what’s going on during Mass while keeping their kids from distracting others.) This meant that everyone waiting for confession could see what was going on during each confession. In particular, everyone could see whether or not the priest granted absolution to each penitent.

This raised two questions in my mind:
  1. Is a priest’s decision whether or not to absolve something that should be covered by the Seal, and thus not readily ascertainable by others, as in the case described above?
  2. The 1983 Code of Canon Law states, “Except for a just reason, confessions are not to be heard elsewhere than in a confessional.” Canon 964 §3. I could see priests wanting to avoid the confessional so they can have witnesses in case they are accused of impropriety during confession. Does anyone have any insight on whether this would be a “just reason”?
I feel for priests who want to protect themselves from false accusations, but I love the privacy of the confessional!
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i never heard of cry rooms before…i once went to confession and instead of being in the confession boxes people had to sit on a seat facing the priest on the altar while those waiting for confession sat watching in the pews…at least the cry room is soundproof 😃
 
At my parish we have true confessionals with complete privacy. Neither the priest nor penitent has access to the other, except by hearing. There is no possibility of impropriety. There are no glass panels.
 
The Privacy of Confession refers to what the penitent confesses, the content of the confession. If a penitent does not want anyone to know that he or she actually went to confession, he can choose to find a priest in a different context. For example, by making an appointment under a different pretext, like “counseling.”

Protecting Priests… My question is still unanswered. Is a priest protected from violating the privacy of confession by admonishing another priest who is a sexual abuser of minors? If a minor confesses that a priest abused him or her, is the confessor allowed to use this information? My doubt is that the penitent, in a confessional context, tells the confessor that another priest abused him or her. This does not seem to be the actual “matter” of the confession, as it was not the abused person’s sin, but the sin of a priest.
 
I don’t think that a priest is allowed to relate anything that is told to him in confession.

But, I don’t see why he could not advise the penitent to report the abuse to the proper authorities, including the bishop, outside the sacrament. The sacrament is for the purpose of absolving the penitent’s sin. It’s not the proper venue for reporting abuse, and someone being abused should report it to the authorities outside the sacrament.
 
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