Lesson 27
What Happens In Confession Stays In Confession
Welcome back to the Lenten Lessons on the Sacraments. Today is our second “final lesson” the Sacrament of Confession, and this one is about the “Sacramental Seal.” The Sacramental Seal means that the Confessor cannot say anything about what he heard in confession: he cannot reveal what he heard or the identity of the penitent. And if he were to violate the Seal of the Confessional he would be excommunicated immediately – ipso facto – with a sentence that is known in Latin as “latae sententiae” – which means he would automatically be excommunicated without trial. But it’s worse than that. Breaking the Seal of the Confessional is one of the seven sins that can only be forgiven by the Pope. The others are: Desecration of the Holy Eucharist; Absolution of a partner in crime; physical attack against the Pope; Heresy; Schism; and Apostasy.
A priest cannot say anything to anyone that would reveal the identity and sin of a penitent, and he cannot use the information he heard in confession in any way or bring up the matter with the person after confession. What happens in confession stays in confession.
I recently made a pilgrimage to Poland and on our return we visited the beautiful city of Prague, home to the cherished infant of Prague. There is a glorious Gothic Cathedral in Prague named after St. Vitus and in that Cathedral a priest saint is buried and venerated: St. John Nepomuck. St. John was thrown into the river by the King because he refused to tell the king what his wife, the queen, had confessed to him in the confessional. He preferred death rather than violating the seal of the confessional. Let’s us pray that all priests be so courageous.
And finally one word about “General Absolutions.” They were a fad in the seventies. General Absolutions can only be used in an emergency, like the threat of war, danger of death, or imminent disaster like a plane crash. In those circumstances a priest can proclaim a general absolution on all those present with the words, “I absolve you of your sins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” However, once the emergency has passed, each person has to go make an individual and personal confession of all of those sins.
God is merciful. But the Church is wise.
So tune in every day of Lent to learn more about your Catholic faith, because if you Learn it, then you can Live it; and if you Live it, you will Love it; and if you Love it, you will never Leave it!
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