Seal of Confession Question

[Leon_Bloy]

I understand the absolute seal, but how does our Church square these laws with this from the catechism:

2269 The fifth commandment forbids doing anything with the intention of indirectly bringing about a person’s death. The moral law prohibits exposing someone to mortal danger without grave reason, as well as refusing assistance to a person in danger.

You would have to ask somebody with authority to answer in the name of the Church. I understand your question, and I sympathize with what seems to be the difficulty.

By the same line of reasoning, though, shouldn’t we all go and plow our cars into every abortion clinic we pass by on the road, since the unborn children there are in danger, too? Not to trivialize this very realy moral evil going on in our world, but where would an obligation as a passive agent in a potential crime (the details of which the priest would know almost nothing, since penitents are usually anonymous, behind a screen) end?

 

[George_Stegmeir]

I am amazed that some of the self professed Catholics on this threads advocate “an exception” to the inviolate nature of the Confessional! Where, on earth, did you learn about the faith?
The seal of the Confessional is one of the few absolutes on this earth. It has always been and will always be-at least until the second Coming.
As for law authorities being able to coerce a Priest to reveal anything told to him in the Confessional, this is a big legal no-no in the US, and has been backed up by Supreme Court decisions.

 

[Maureen1125]

I just watched a really good movie today called “Confession” in which a teenage boy killed a classmate at a catholic boarding school and then immediately ran to confession. The Priest that he confessed to was unable to account for his whereabouts at the time of the murder without shedding suspicion on the boy and by extension breaking the seal even if he didn’t openly say anything. The boy repaid him for his kindness by framing him for the murder…

So…even though this was only a movie - it seems that the seal is most definately absolute