Is the seal of confession upheld by the priest after the penitent’s death? None of the articles I’ve searched have specifically answered this question.
Yes, it is. The death of the penitent has no bearing on the seal of confession since the penitent’s good name may persist after his or her death and that good name cannot be damaged by what has been revealed in confession.
Deacon Ed, I’ve always had the same question as the OP.
What if (I know this is kind of a wacky question, but…) a person is being investigated for canonization, but his or her confessor knows some real “dirt” from the person’s confessions, what happens in a case like this?
DISCLAIMER: Catholic Answers has turned over the archive to Catholic-Questions.org and no longer owns, manages, or moderates the forums. For additional apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com.
