When can a priest reveal a confession?
Catholic Church forbids breaking seal of secrecy but there may be ways to bypass decree
The Australian Catholic Church is under fire after rejecting a government push to force priests to report accusations of child sexual abuse heard during confession.
The Church said that “children would be less safe if mandatory reporting of confessions was required”. Lifting the ban on breaking the confessional seal would be “contrary to our faith and inimical to religious liberty”, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) added in a statement.
That response has been blasted as “not good enough” by Leonie Sheedy, co-founder of the Care Leavers Australasia Network support network.There have also been allegations that the Catholic Church may be protecting criminals in its ranks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The row is the latest development in a long-running debate over whether priests should be able to reveal the details of a confession in certain circumstances.
What does the Church say?
To the Catholic Church, the answer is clear: the Seal of the Confessional must never be broken under any circumstances, even in cases of grave criminality.
In the Code of Canon Law laid out by the Vatican Church, Canon 983.1 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.”
This English translation is particularly mild, according to information site Canon Law Made Easy (CLME), which explains that the original Latin describes breaking the confessional seal as “nefas” - a word with no direct translation in English but which the site says “refers to something that is so wickedly sinful, so abominably execrable, that it is simply impossible to do it”.
Under Canon Law, the punishment for breaking the seal is excommunication from the Church entirely.
Are there exceptions to the rule?
It depends on who you ask.
To some Catholics - even moderate ones - the seal is absolute and no attempts must ever be made to break it, no matter how serious the matters learned in confession or how much pressure is put on them by lawmakers, the Catholic News Agency reports.
However, others believe there should be leeway.
The CLME website says that “if a penitent has indicated that he fully intends to kill or harm ‘Person X’, a priest may be able to warn the police that Person X is in danger, but without fully explaining how he obtained this information”.
However, “a confessor is forbidden to go to the police with specific information about a penitent which he has learned during a confession”, the site adds.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 high rating cartoons about Biden's low poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on checklists, ice creams, and more
By The Week US Published
-
A gastronomic tour of the Costa de la Luz
The Week Recommends This Spanish spot has fantastic restaurants "rooted in the region's distinctive produce"
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: May 19, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Vatican's same-sex blessing approval: What is Pope Francis doing?
Today's Big Question The pope rocked the Catholic world by giving the green light to blessing same-sex couples, with plenty of caveats
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Vatican half-embraces transgender Catholic godparents, wedding witnesses
Under the Radar Pope Francis signed off on a series of clarifications about the roles LGBTQ Catholics can play in the church, with ample theological fine print
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rebellious nuns ban Texas bishop from monastery in chastity row
Speed Read Wheelchair-using Mother Prioress has been accused of ‘sexting’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
QR codes could reveal sex-offending French priests
Speed Read Move by Catholic Church denounced as a ‘publicity stunt’ by sexual abuse survivors’ group
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Papal succession: the cardinals in the running to be the next pope
feature Current favourite from Philippines would represent changing demographic of the Church
By The Week Staff Published
-
Cardinal George Pell: polarising Australian Catholic dies aged 81
Why Everyone’s Talking About Controversial cardinal, acquitted of child sexual abuse charges, died of heart complications after hip surgery
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Pope Benedict XVI - a life in pictures
In Pictures Thousands of Catholics have paid their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI, who died aged 95
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Pope Benedict ‘turned blind eye’ to child sexual abuse
feature Church-commissioned report says the former pontiff ‘perpetuated a culture of trivialising’ abuse of minors
By The Week Staff Published