The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #128156 Message #2881067
Posted By: Joe Offer
06-Apr-10 - 08:52 PM
Thread Name: BS: Clerical child abuse Part 94....
Subject: RE: BS: Clerical child abuse Part 94....
As in all sacraments, the healing or spiritual effect is believed to come from God, not from the priest - the priest is merely a functionary.
There's an element of commitment about admitting your wrongdoing out loud, rather than just keeping it between you and God and assuming you're forgiven. The "seal of confession" does give a feeling of safety. It's rare that what a person admits in confession could be material evidence in a court procedure, but the secrecy of confession has been challenged occasionally in courts in the US and other locations. I don't know of a situation where a priest has bowed to government pressure and revealed what was told him in confession - it's one of those things that is simply not done, no matter how corrupt the priest is. In the seminary, we were told that we needed to do everything we could to convince the penitent to admit his crime to government authorities. We were also told that if a person was unwilling to admit his crime to the criminal justice system, that would be grounds for a priest refusing absolution - but that the priest still couldn't inform "the authorities" about the crime. The sacrament of reconciliation (confession) only grants forgiveness if the penitent is truly sorry for his sin, and is resolved not to do it again.
I suppose you can get all wound up about the possibility of somebody telling a priest in confession about some horrible crime that he intends to commit - but this is something that occurs very rarely, if at all. I would bet it's something that most priests have never heard. Perhaps there are times when a priest's testimony might be convenient evidence in a criminal trial and might help lead to a conviction or longer sentence - but using the testimony of what priests hear in confession as a crime prevention tool, would probably seem nonproductive to most prosecutors and law enforcement officers.
-Joe-