458 THE SEAL OF THE CONFESSIONAL

YOUCAT Lesson 458

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

458  How confidential is the secret of the confessional?

The secret of the confessional is sacred.  It cannot be violated for any reason, however weighty.  [2490]

Catholic faithful waiting in line for their turn to confess their sins to the priest seated in the confessional in the background.  A good confession brings great peace to the soul. …..458

Father Pedro Marieluz Garcés died a martyr as a Catholic military chaplain.  In 1825 in Peru, there occurred a conspiracy by some Royal soldiers against the Spanish governor. The plot was found out and the conspirators were sentenced to death.  Before dying, they were allowed to confess their sins to Father Marieluz. Following the execution of the plotters the Spanish governor believed that there might be other members of the plot who had escaped detection. Since Father Marieluz had heard the confessions of the executed soldiers the governor believed the priest would have knowledge of other conspirators. The governor tried to force Father Marieluz to disclose to him what he had heard under the holy seal of the confessional by threatening him to be shot if the chaplain priest would not obey. Father Marieluz refused to break the seal of the confessional and was executed September 23, 1825.

A priest must not report even the most heinous crime.  Not even what might seem like trifles can be revealed by the priest, even under torture.  238

Thomas Aquinas goes even farther and says that the priest knows the confession “not as man, but as God knows it”.^[2] 

 [2490]

RESPECT FOR THE TRUTH

2490 The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated under any pretext. "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, 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."(Codex Iuris Canonici, Can. 983 § 1.)²⁸⁴ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition