US 'should not rule out torture' ---Tom Ridge

[formercatholic]

Let me tell you something about the Seal of Confession and how seriously the Catholic Church in America views it, from personal experience.

I also would tell this to the Pope if he asked me about it.

Two of my children had their confessions violated by a priest in an order. He told my children that when their mother was living in sin with her lover that she was doing what was right. My daughter, about 9 at the time, told the priest in front of the Mother and her lover, that her Baltimore Catechism said that her mother was wrong. The priest told her to get a new Catechism.

Immediately after this conversation two of our other children went to confession to this priest. After their confessions their mother went to speak with this priest. When she came back to the van all our children were in with their mother and her lover, their mother told them not to mention what she said then told them what they had said to the priest in confession.

This was in about 1994. The Church refuses to do anything to either the priest or my wife.

So much for the Seal of Confession. Rome knows about it so do countless others. It does not matter.

 

[gilliam]

By the way, I am not sure the priest can absolve the terrorist from sins yet to be committed (the bomb not going off yet). So the priest probably would simply be consulting with him at this point to try to get him to tell him where the bomb is and the seal of the confessional would not enter in upon it.

 

[Catholic2003]

gilliam:

Fine, he is excommunicated. He is still saved because he must save human life. If he sits by and lets 5 million people die, he is no better than a machine or worse, a terrorist himself.

Spoken like a true cafeteria Catholic. By your logic, is it okay for a husband to use condoms if another pregnancy will kill his wife? After all, he will still be saved because he is saving the life of his wife, right?

gilliam:

Better yet, he should find a way of saving the 5 million people without violating the confidentiality of the penitant.

The two are mutually exclusive by canon law:

Canon 984 §1 The confessor is wholly forbidden to use knowledge acquired in confession to the detriment of the penitent, even when all danger of disclosure is excluded.

 

[Catholic2003]

gilliam:

By the way, I am not sure the priest can absolve the terrorist from sins yet to be committed (the bomb not going off yet). So the priest probably would simply be consulting with him at this point to try to get him to tell him where the bomb is and the seal of the confessional would not enter in upon it.

The issue of whether absolution could be granted is very tricky in this situation, but it is entirely irrelevant to the seal of the confessional, which applies even if absolution is not granted.

 

[gilliam]

Catholic2003:

Spoken like a true cafeteria Catholic. By your logic, is it okay for a husband to use condoms if another pregnancy will kill his wife? After all, he will still be saved because he is saving the life of his wife, right?

The two are mutually exclusive by canon law:

What are you talking about? You are advocating standing by while 5 million people die when you can do something about it, and you are calling it Christian? Give me a break.

I am as process oriented as the next bloke, but really!!!

:banghead:

 

[Catholic2003]

gilliam:

What are you talking about? You are advocating standing by while 5 million people die when you can do something about it, and you are calling it Christian? Give me a break.

So I guess you expect us to believe that if Jesus were back here on Earth, He would be first in line to apply the thumbscrews to the priest?