Seal of Confession and criminals

[Rosebud77]

priests in real life are intimidating. Maybe over the phone.

Seriously and an aspect of this. Is it right for the priest way after the confession etc to make public verbal reference to what you have confessed? Have had this happen.

 

[InThePew]

Can the priest report a crime revealed in confession? Why protect the sins that are against the law and do not protect society? I doubt a murderer is going to go confession or even a rapist. Probably a thief. I also do not understand the degrees of sin. Even the most holy of saints go to confession and are sinners. A total jerk can sincerely confess minutes before his death and be accepted by Gods grace into heaven. How is fornication and murder both mortal sins? I think fornication is a sin but going to hell for all eternity for this sin seems far fetched.

Okay let’s just take this one bit at a time - bite sized pieces!

First up, as others have already said, no a priest cannot tell another living soul about what was revealed to him in confession. More than this though, he also can’t do anything which might reveal it.

So why? Well basically from a non-religious point of view to encourage people to be fully open and trusting with their priests knowing that what they say won’t go any further. It’s basically the same philosophy behind attorney-client privilege - if lawyers are to be able to do their job properly their clients need to know that what they tell their lawyer is confidential. From a spiritual point of view, it’s to encourage people to be fully open about their sins knowing that the priest is acting in the person of Christ and so knowing that they can trust him absolutely. The Church also takes a similar approach to spiritual direction. Is a murderer or rapist likely to go to confession - well maybe, maybe not; but they’re more likely to if they know that what they say won’t go any further.

So then there’s degrees of sin - fornication and murder are both mortal sins - just like theft and murder are both crimes - but terms like “mortal” and “venial” (or serious and less-serious) can be a bit misleading I think because they risk a black and white approach to sin rather than a holistic one - that is, one which looks at the whole circumstances of the action and considers the effect it has on a person’s relationship with God and on others. So are fornicators doomed to hell for all eternity? The short answer is we don’t know - all we can do is commend them to God’s mercy; we can’t say that they’re definitely going one place or another.

That brings us nicely onto the question of God’s mercy even towards total jerks.I think that your question really highlights both the beauty and mystery of the sacrament of reconciliation - I go in, sorry for what I did, I confess and my sins are wiped away. We cannot even begin to understand God’s mercy but we can embrace it

Hopefully that’s of some help to you. Now I have a question for you: as someone who’s training to become a priest, I’d like to know what makes you say that priests are intimidating? I’m guessing that this comes from some experiences you’ve had but I’d be interested in hearing more about that. PM me if you prefer.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

priests in real life are intimidating. Maybe over the phone.

They can be, I agree. It took me ages to speak to my current pastor. I was absolutely terrified of him when he arrived, I approached him twenty months later in a state of complete terror and I remained terrified of him for some months after that first conversation despite speaking with him on a near daily basis during this time. It got better. Much, much better. Oh, what I would have missed if I had remained hindered by my fear!

Try it. Priests are people too. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Take care, and God bless. I’m praying for you.

Seriously and an aspect of this. Is it right for the priest way after the confession etc to make public verbal reference to what you have confessed? Have had this happen.

Depends upon what you mean by “public verbal reference.” Naming you to other people definitely breaks the Seal. Providing any details that would concretely indicate your identity would as well. A vague mention as an example to drive home a point in a homily possibly would not. People confess all kinds of sins. How will priests educate us in avoiding these sins if they can’t ever mention them under any circumstance?

As always, open to correction by those more knowledgeable than I.