Unintentional Breaking of Seal

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padre7

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If a priest after absolution tells the penitent, “Oh, I forgot to tell you that you need to make restitution for the thefts you mentioned.” Is this breaking the Seal? If he truly thought what he was going was the right thing and did not intend to break the seal, is he still excoomunicated automatically? Can a priest incure the excommunication, even If he did not know he was breaking the seal at the moment he did the act? If the priest realizes afterwards that what he did was wrong, must he confess that he unintentionally broke the Seal? If so would it reserved to the Holy See or the Missionaries of Mercy?
 
Isn’t the seal based on telling others? If you have a regular confessor they know what sins you confess so they give advice related to that. That’s not breaking the seal because they remember.
 
padre7 said:
If a priest after absolution tells the penitent, “Oh, I forgot to tell you that you need to make restitution for the thefts you mentioned.” Is this breaking the Seal?
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No because breaking the seal involves divulging what was said (with sufficient information to identify the penitent) to a person other than the penitent. A direct violation occurs when the priest reveals to another person (other than the penitent) what was said and who said it. Indirect violation of the seal of confession occurs when the sin and the sinner can be deduced from the words, gestures, deeds, or omission of the confessor.
 
It his remarks were between you and him, I don’t think the seal is broken. But that is my opinion.
 
padre7 said:
If a priest after absolution tells the penitent, “Oh, I forgot to tell you that you need to make restitution for the thefts you mentioned.” Is this breaking the Seal?
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Inside the confessional or outside?
 
Apparently, the penitent can release the priest from the seal for whatever reason, or the priest can ask to be released.
 
That is not true. There was a court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and even if the penitent ‘releases the priest’ he is still obligated to the secrecy of what he heard in confession.
 
poche said:
There was a court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and even if the penitent ‘releases the priest’ he is still obligated to the secrecy of what he heard in confession.
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This is probably based on the country where you live. Just a thought.
 
No, that’s not breaking the seal.

If I go to confession and tell my confessor I stole from the local supermarket and at some point later he tells me to make restitution for those thefts he’s not broken the seal of the confession. However, if he were to tell the manager of the supermarket I stole from him that would be breaking the seal.

The priest only breaks the seal of the confession if he tells a third party what you confessed or uses information about you he could only have obtained in confession.
 
The seal is absolute. There’s nothing in the wording of the Canon to indicate that it only applies to telling a third party one’s sins. It says it is forbidden to betray the penitent in any way for any reason. So this even keeps me from talking to you about your sins after the fact. Half the point of the seal is to protect your reputation. The other half is to keep your sins from coming back to haunt you. Once they’re confessed, they’re gone.

That said, if the priest says something to you while you’re still in the confessional, that’s not really “after the fact.” If he calls you the next day or flags you down on your way into Mass to make that comment, that’s problematic.

-Fr ACEGC
 
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edward_george1 said:
That said, if the priest says something to you while you’re still in the confessional, that’s not really “after the fact.” If he calls you the next day or flags you down on your way into Mass to make that comment, that’s problematic.
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Out of curiosity, could a priest ask the penitents permission outside the confessional to reopen the discussion, so to speak? Like, “hey, I had some additional thoughts if you’re open to discussing, if not, no problem.”
 
BoomBoomMancini said:
Out of curiosity, could a priest ask the penitents permission outside the confessional to reopen the discussion, so to speak? Like, “hey, I had some additional thoughts if you’re open to discussing, if not, no problem.”
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It would be a very bad idea, don’t you think? After all, it would betray that a confession took place, no?
 
poche said:
There was a court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and even if the penitent ‘releases the priest’ he is still obligated to the secrecy of what he heard in confession.
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The court case would have to do with the law of the United States and compelling a priest, minister, rabbi, other religious of this type in other faiths, to testify under law of United States. It wouldn’t be limited to Catholic priests and it wouldn’t have anything to do with the priest’s duty under Catholicism or whether he gets excommunicated or not.
 
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Nope, that would be at best highly imprudent and at worst a violation of the seal. Most of the time, I don’t remember what happened well enough to be able to do that in the first place, and if I do, I just trust God that I said what he needed me to say and leave it at that.
 
Gorgias said:
It would be a very bad idea, don’t you think? After all, it would betray that a confession took place, no?
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I mean, the fact that someone went to confession is semi public. It’s not like we wear masks when we stand in line. And the priest could theoretically approach the person where no one else is in earshot.
 
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