The Seal of the Confessional
By grandpa_lash
@grandpa_lash (5225)
Australia
October 25, 2009 2:19am CST
My partner and I have just each read a Carol O'Connell book in which a priest, not only having taken the confession of a serial killer but having an ongoing, if unwilling, correspondence with him, refuses to break the seal of the confessional and tell the police what he knows. This is perhaps the extreme end of this issue, but it is an excellent macro view of it.
We both find this absolutely heinous. If we were believers, we would say that God's law is to protect the innocent, that is, the potential victims of this killer, and that this takes precedence over any Church rule against breaking the seal. In terms of sheer justice for the victim(s) already dead, the seal should be broken. We both believe that a priest discovered doing this should be charged with the most serious possible offence available within this context, and prosecuted with vigour, and that his priestly vows should not be taken as any form of justification or defense. I would go so far as to suggest that the charge he faces is "Accessory after the fact to murder".
How do you believers, especially Roman Catholics, feel about this issue? And if you believe the seal is a sacred law, how on earth do you justify the evil done in its name?
Lash
1 person likes this
6 responses
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
26 Oct 09
These sorts of things happen if you put men's organization(s) and ideas ahead of God/truth.
@Zenstrive (237)
• Indonesia
25 Oct 09
The priest can say that to reach absolution, the serial killer needs to report himself to the police and confess everything there. If the priest is killed afterward, than it's no longer the priest's responsibility.
Anyway, I found this whole seal of confessional ridiculous....
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
26 Oct 09
I'm at something of a loss to understand where the priest getting killed entered the discussion, but hey.
Lash
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
25 Oct 09
I am a Christian but not a Roman Catholic.
This reminds me of a great movie "I Confess" starring Montgomery Cliff. He played the role of a priest who heard the confession of a murderer. The priest became the chief suspect and was actually charged with the murder, but would not dob in the real culprit. Most people thought the priest was a hero. (He was eventually acquitted and the murderer revealed and caught).
A person in any other position would indeed be charged with being an accessory after the fact. It is a criminal offence to hide such information from the police. If the murderer committed another such crime, the priest would be just as guilty as the murderer himself. There would be no excuse.
While there may be some benefit of the "seal of the confessional" (although I do not believe there should BE a confessional) it should not be above the law of the land. Even doctors, whose records are private and confidential, have to give evidence to the police when requested.
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
26 Oct 09
That's pretty much how I see it from a legal point of view, but although the confessional is a Catholic issue, the attempt to put the Church above the state is not restricted to Catholicism.
Lash
@enola1692 (3323)
• United States
25 Oct 09
I agree with you I USE to be catholic an there are alot of things I don't believe in that they do for instance after I got married I wantting our daughter christen in the catholic church or should I say my family was pushin me to it anyway I went to see the priest he said no he couldn't do it cause now because of me my daughter had 3 marks on her 3 marks on her she wasn't even a month old yet well he said one because I was pregent when I got married ,an I married a baptist not a catholic an I was crying a leaving thinking I damned my baby I don't know what the third was I did find a priest who took my hubby in with open arms an christen the baby I think if something that will harm another person the priest should tell an who know the person that went to confession could walk out the door an say aahhh onk I went to confession so its ok I will do it again an people asked why I came out of the broom closet
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
26 Oct 09
I don't know what the rule of the confessional is in cases like this, but I do know that although God may forgive sin if there is repentance, anyone who is a serial killer is obviously unrepentant. Since that is true, even if by Catholic doctrine the priest can give absolution, he couldn't in this case.
In the case of crime, God doesn't guarantee that you will be absolved from the law of man or the law of the government, He only guarantees that He will forgive you. That forgiveness won't necessarily extend to saving you from the consequences of your actions.
The priest should be aware of God's rules and laws about how one is to treat one's fellow man (to love him as yourself) and allow God's law to rule over the church's law. Not to do so would make him complicit in the crime, if not legally, then at least morally and ethically.
@stephwrites (275)
• United States
27 Oct 09
I agree with you on this one Lash, shocking, isn't it? grin. If this person were not a priest, he would be required by law to report any confession to the police and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But unfortunately, a priest has been give special privileges by the church and these laws do not apply to him. I'm not sure where Catholics get the view that a priest should hear confessions and not have to report them. But I believe that God is our only judge and capable of forgiving sin.
Even psychologists are required by law to report any crime their patients tell them. But priests are not? I don't get it. I would guess that some criminals would confess to a priest just to take advantage of this fact. they are dying to tell someone about it and this would prevent a cell mate from testifying in court. and unfortunately, it's unlikely that this situation is going to change.
