Can A Catholic Priest Break The Seal Of Confession In Order To Prevent A Heinous Crime From Occurring?
I know that religious clerics are not legally obligated to report suspicious activity or even the confession to commit a heinous crime in the FUTURE.
However, are Catholic priests allowed to do so by their church?
Wouldn’t it be better for a Catholic Priest to break the seal of confession in order to prevent a murder? a genocide? a terrorist attack? etc.
- A Catholic priest can break the seal of confession To avoid a heinous crime to occur?
- Is it true that a Catholic priest can not break the seal of confession?
- Is it true that a Catholic priest can not break the seal of confession?
- Do Catholic priests are to report crime revealed in confession?
- A Catholic priest does not have to report a murder confession?
No.
A priest cannot repeat anything told him as part of a confession.
But Confession and Reconciliation happen after the sin is committed, not before.
The Code of Canon Law states: The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.
Violation of the seal of confession results in immediate excommunication of the priest.
Priests may discuss things in general terms. One priest said that hearing the confessions of second graders is like getting bombarded with cotton balls.
For more information, see the Code of Canon Law: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__...
Here is a recent example, “Federal law protects seal of confession”: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-1920...
With love in Christ.
Absolutely not. From Wikipedia:
Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others. For a priest to break confidentiality would lead to a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication, the lifting of which is reserved to the Holy See—in fact, to the Pope himself (Code of Canon Law, 1388 §1). It is presumed such a breach could be forgiven only with the lifting of the authority of that priest to ever hear confessions again, and a requirement that the priest undertake an extended period of penance, perhaps in a monastery. In the Early Modern period, some casuists (Thomas Sanchez, etc.) justified mental reservation as a form of deception which does not involves outright lying, in specific circumstances such as the seal of the confessional.
“In a criminal matter, a priest may encourage or require the penitent to surrender to authorities and may withhold absolution if the penitent refuses to do so. However, this is the extent of the leverage they wield. They may not directly or indirectly disclose the matter to civil authorities themselves (see priest-penitent privilege).”
No.
The sacramental seal is inviolable. Quoting Canon 983.1 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism states, “…It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason” (No. 2490). A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity. He cannot be compelled by law to disclose a person’s confession or be bound by any oath he takes, e.g. as a witness in a court trial. A priest cannot reveal the contents of a confession either directly, by repeating the substance of what has been said, or indirectly, by some sign, suggestion, or action. A Decree from the Holy Office (Nov. 18, 1682) mandated that confessors are forbidden, even where there would be no revelation direct or indirect, to make any use of the knowledge obtained in the confession that would “displease” the penitent or reveal his identity.
There is no absolution if the person is not repentant, even in such an extreme case. The penance would be to turn oneself in to the authorities. You cannot confess a future sin. Nor can one presume forgiveness for a sin not yet committed, that’s why it’s called the sin of presumption.
In the case of murder, the priest cannot break the seal of the confessional, he would have to die first. He can, however, report the incident to his bishop, which is pointless because many penitents confess in anonymity. That means the priest doesn’t see them, so even if the priest could break the seal, it would be pointless and useless to law enforcement agencies.
Most societies respect the priests seal due to the overall benefits of the confessional. We all need to be forgiven, and confessing directly to God is good, but hearing forgiveness from a representative of Christ is better.
James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.
Canon Law 983 §1. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.
If you would like more answers, consider asking around this site as well…http://christianforums.com/forumdisplay….
If a person professes that he will sin in the future and wants absolution beforehand he is not truly contrite and there is no “seal”.
No they cannot.
They do not have the duty to warn, like a counselor does.
No, they cannot.
No. I do not believe they would either.
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People confess things they have already done, not what they’re going to do; making your scenario as unlikely as it gets.
The priest will not break the Seal of the Sacrament even unto death. If there was ANY WAY a priest could be made to reveal what he was told in Confession, no one would want to receive Confession, for fear that their sins become material for gossip.
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First and foremost, priests are SPIRITUALLY obligated not to reveal what they’re told in Confession. Legality is irelevant.
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The Church teaches that Catholics are, first and foremost, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. It also teaches that, while Catholics are citizens of the Kingdom, we are also citizens of the earthly kingdom in which we reside. We must do our civic duty (provided this duty does not contradict Church teaching).
This goes for ordained clergy as well. Priests are supposed to be good citizens of the earthly kingdom in which they reside. That means, if they witness “suspicous behavior”, it is their civic duty to report it to the authorties, as any good citizen would.
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Again, this scenario simply isn’t realistic. The Sacrament of Confession isn’t for revealing sins we’re tempted to commit. It is for asking - and receiving - absolution for sins already committed.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, someone comes into Confession and confesses to a murder. The priest is going to recommend, possibly as penance, to turn himself into the authorties for the crime he committed. After all, isn’t that what a truly repenting heart would want to do in such a case? I would hope so.
I do not believe a christian should confess to a priest any of his sins,
if you have committed an heinous crime, you wouldn’t be a christian anyway, but for any man to have knowledge of a crime and hinder it being solved and the criminal being brought to justice, would be a crime of harboring a criminal and his devious act and should be prosecuted also.Chrisitans
should always go to God in the name of Jesus in their prayers, some secret sins I would not want to tell my pastor and he has some he would not want known but only to God.
Without a doubt, there must be alot of die hard catholics on here, even if they were wrong, they would still follow their church, that is very sad, I had to put to the test many times the
doctrines I believe and hold to, Paul said to examine yourselves to see if you are of the faith or reprobate.
It is up to the priest but yes they can.
edit: From what I understand they can not break the seal of the confessional if the act has all ready been done. But if a person is confessing the future possibility and the priest feels it can be prevented then they can break the seal of confession but it rarely if ever happens.
yes
I wonder what kind of penance they give for that stuff. 8,000 Hail Marys?