T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
Why is confession revealed by the priest considered to be fraudulent by the Catholic Church? What if the priest gained knowledge about a murder during a confession and needs to tell police?
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B
Bookcat
Guest
It is not about “fraud” but is about grave sin and excommunication.
A Priest may never break the seal of confession.
Period.
Tis not a matter for a poll.
A Priest may never break the seal of confession.
Period.
Tis not a matter for a poll.
T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
Does the confessor still have the sacramentIt is not about “fraud” but is about grave sin and excommunication.
A Priest may never break the seal of confession.
Period.
B
Bookcat
Guest
?Does the confessor still have the sacrament
T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
If the preist breaks the seal, is the confessor in trouble?
B
Bookcat
Guest
yes the Priest in a real trouble - very serious mortal sin and excommunicationIf the preist breaks the seal, is the confessor in trouble?
G
Gorgias
Guest
The priest is the confessor. Do you mean the person going to confession (that is, the penitent)?If the preist breaks the seal, is the confessor in trouble?
If so, then no. The penitent isn’t in trouble – nor is his confession invalid – if the priest who administered the sacrament breaks the seal of the confessional.
(Neither, as it turns out, is the penitent “in trouble” if he breaks the seal. It only binds the priest confessor (and anyone who may have overheard the confession).)
T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
No i mean will the penitent go to jail if he confessed to a crime worthy of jail time and the priest tells the authorities.The priest is the confessor. Do you mean the person going to confession (that is, the penitent)?
If so, then no. The penitent isn’t in trouble – nor is his confession invalid – if the priest who administered the sacrament breaks the seal of the confessional.
(Neither, as it turns out, is the penitent “in trouble” if he breaks the seal. It only binds the priest confessor (and anyone who may have overheard the confession).)
G
Gorgias
Guest
Nope… not even then. Here’s the thing: if you knew that there were circumstances under which the priest who hears your confession will tell the authorities… would you go to confession?What if the priest gained knowledge about a murder during a confession and needs to tell police?
If priests did reveal what they heard, that would be the end of the sacrament of reconciliation – no one would go, out of fear that their confidentiality might be betrayed.
Therefore, the priest tells no one. Ever.
(Another way to look at it is that the sacrament of reconciliation is about divine justice, not human justice. The priest serves God in the confessional, not the secular authorities.)
1
1ke
Guest
That is a question for a criminal attorney.No i mean will the penitent go to jail if he confessed to a crime worthy of jail time and the priest tells the authorities.
The ability of the police or prosecutor to use information they obtained from this hypothetical violation of the seal to prosecute a crime would vary by jurisdiction.
We really can’t say.
G
Gorgias
Guest
That has nothing to do with confession, then. You’re asking the question “if a person goes to the police, with information about a crime that was committed, would the offender go to jail?” That answer depends on the police and the judicial process. It has nothing to do with the person who reports.No i mean will the penitent go to jail if he confessed to a crime worthy of jail time and the priest tells the authorities.
However, if what you’re asking is whether the secular justice system disregards what priests say, just because they’re priests, then the answer is ‘no’. The secular justice system does not honor the ‘seal of the confessional.’
U
Usige
Guest
YES! It is so serious that it results in an automatic excommunication of the priest that can only be lifted by the Pope. Even a translator that breaks the seal is automatically excommunicated for revealing anything heard.If the preist breaks the seal, is the confessor in trouble?
T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
So he can only be forgiven by a pope or the current pope?YES! It is so serious that it results in an automatic excommunication of the priest that can only be lifted by the Pope. Even a translator that breaks the seal is automatically excommunicated for revealing anything heard.
U
Usige
Guest
Yes they could go to jail, but the priest would likely be laicized and in certain jurisdictions the testimony of the priest might be thrown out and himself be prosecuted. In many places a confessor’s relationship to the penitent is considered to be like that of a lawyer and doctor and revealing anything learned in a privileged conversation is inadmissible and punishable under the law.No i mean will the penitent go to jail if he confessed to a crime worthy of jail time and the priest tells the authorities.
U
Usige
Guest
It would be the current Pope (or his designate). For instance, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI could not lift that type of excommunication as he no longer holds authority as the current bishop of Rome.So he can only be forgiven by a pope or the current pope?
T
TheTrinitySaves
Guest
So the bishop or other priests couldn’t hear the priests confission in a emergency if the Pope can’t meet with him?It would be the current Pope (or his designate). For instance, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI could not lift that type of excommunication as he no longer holds authority as the current bishop of Rome.
E
edward_george
Guest
The Pope doesn’t actually meet with those who have incurred such penalties as are reserved to the Apostolic See. Rather, the ability to lift such penalties is delegated to the office of the Apostolic Penitentiary.So the bishop or other priests couldn’t hear the priests confission in a emergency if the Pope can’t meet with him?
-Fr ACEGC
U
Usige
Guest
As edward_george says, they would not have to meet with the Pope to have the excommunication lifted.So the bishop or other priests couldn’t hear the priests confission in a emergency if the Pope can’t meet with him?
As far as I know, they could go to confession but the effects of the excommunication would still stand until lifted. This means they could not hold any clerical office, offer or participate in the sacraments, et cetera. The forgiveness of confession is seperate from the juridic act lifting the excommunication.
On a side note, I misspoke earlier. An interpreter that reveals what is learned in confession is not automatically excommunicated, but they can be tried in an ecclesial court and excommunicated if they have been found to have consciously broken the seal.
R
rcwitness
Guest
From Wiki, regarding Reconciliation of an excommunicated person:So he can only be forgiven by a pope or the current pope?
In the Catholic Church, excommunication is normally resolved by a declaration of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy) and an Act of Faith, or renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act, i.e., an act ofschism) by the excommunicated person and the lifting of the censure (absolution) by a priest or bishop empowered to do this. “The absolution can be in the internal (private) forum only, or also in the external (public) forum, depending on whether scandal would be given if a person were privately absolved and yet publicly considered unrepentant.”[13]Since excommunication excludes from reception of the sacraments, absolution from excommunication is required before absolution can be given from the sin that led to the censure. In many cases, the whole process takes place on a single occasion in the privacy of the confessional. For some more serious wrongdoings, absolution from excommunication is reserved to a bishop, another ordinary, or even the Pope. These can delegate a priest to act on their behalf.
B
Bookcat
Guest
The excommunication is for a direct violation of the seal and it is reserved to the Holy See.So he can only be forgiven by a pope or the current pope?
Whoever is Pope can yes lift it…even it occurred before the Popes time (or those he gives this task to…the Ap. Pententiary)
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