Posted on 06/16/2018 6:13:55 PM PDT by marshmallow
The acting Archbishop of Adelaide declared that the Catholic Church refuses to uphold a new law that would force priests to break the seal of confession.
Greg O’Kelly, acting archbishop of Adelaide in Australia, said that the law cannot change the sanctity of the confessional and church law absolutely forbids any priest from violating the confidential nature of confession, according to The Guardian. The law, which goes into effect in October, compels religious ministers to report any confessed child abuser or face fines and prosecution. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) passed the law in 2017, but O’Kelly said the church only became aware of it on Thursday.
“Politicians can change the law, but we can’t change the nature of the confessional, which is a sacred encounter between a penitent and someone seeking forgiveness and a priest representing Christ,” O’Kelly said, according to The Guardian. “It doesn’t affect us. We have an understanding of the seal of confession that is in the area of the sacred.”
Priests who break the seal of confession face the penalty of excommunication, according to Catholic Church law. Priests who do not break the seal of confession in ACT, however, will now face a maximum $10,000 fine, according to the new law.
A spokesman for the South Australia attorney general’s office said that authorities will investigate any instance of alleged failed reporting from church officials and will prosecute when necessary.
(Excerpt) Read more at stream.org ...
Good for him. Render to Caesar what is Caesars,
but to God what is God’s.
Meh, if someone confesses that he has raped a child, and he doesn’t call the cops, he SHOULD be arrested. That’s all good and fine to fix the rapists soul but there are limits.
To me this is no different than some Jehovahs Witness refusing lifesaving treatment for a kid.
It’s just pig headed to insist on the right to keep child molesting secrets away from the cops.
“Priests who break the seal of confession face the penalty of excommunication, according to Catholic Church law.”
Yeah baloney. I have watched a parade of communists, homo advocates, lesbo nuns, pedophiles, DNC politicians pushing for abortion etc. yet, I haven’t seen any excommunications happen so far.
So turning in some guy sodomizing a kid. THAT is where they draw the line? Anyone think Jesus would just say it’s cool and help the pervert escape temporal justice?
What will happen is that pedophiles will cease confessing that crime, some priests will be caught in “sting” operations and fined, and in the end the law will be repealed.
More harm than good...
Nobody would “confess” pedo sex except a police agent.
Good for him. I’m a Protestant but don’t care, it’s the principle of the thing. Let’s see if they start arresting priests. Maybe they can subpoena the Pope.
Today its child rapists tomorrow its gun owners and the next day its people who dont like the government. No matter what sin someone committed he must be given free and absolute access to the sacrament of confession without fear of reprisal. GOD Trumps Government. The confessor will counsel him to do the right thing and turn himself in. This is the faith I have in Christ and His Church.
I’m sure there are extremely long queues of child rapists and abusers waiting to confess preventing normal people from confessing. Unless they start badging people confessing it would seem pretty difficult to ID who perpetuated the sin. And for funnies, one could pull a “swatting” on someone else by confessing to some horrid child rape using someone else’s name.
That’s kind of my thought too. And I may be wrong but my understanding is that if someone confess something like that, the priest May kick it up a level for some more severe penance. I wonder how often that confession happens.
And honestly I would think if somebody confess something of that nature, part of the Penance would be to go turn yourself in and face the music.
I disagree with you. A pedophile is a very different thing than any other law breaking I can think of. I would think that is a unique case
| 1467 Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives. This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the "sacramental seal," because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains "sealed" by the sacrament. |
It won’t happen. The priest does not want to be banished to hell.
It already is. If anyone confesses the crime, they’re told to turn themselves in to the police.
But priests must never tell anyone what was said in a Confession. Priests have died to defend the Seal of Confession.
Fr. Fernando Olmedo Reguera.
Fr. Felipe Císcar Puig.
St. Mateo Correa Magallanes.
St. John Nepomucene .
God give our priests the strength to lay down their lives.
I do respect it, and understand the slippery slope. But it sure looks bad after all the church has been through with pedophiles to draw a hard line about keeping their secret from the police.
Another part of me wonders if Jesus and the moneychangers being driven from the Temple fits here. Imagine if before the world, a priest hearing about sodomy grabbed a pedophile by the scruff of the neck and marched him out the front door, slapped his face and kicked him down the steps.
The pews would fill up again. It might be the Trump style turn around the church could use. For the world to see dramatically that. Nobody could ever accuse the church again if they took a zero tolerance stand and made sure everyone knew it.
I know that won’t ever happen, but what would have happened in some Boston or New York church in say, 1905 if some priest found out some guy molested boys. I bet it would have been much rougher than today.
Thank you for the book reference. I will check it out.
“God give our priests the strength to lay down their lives.”
I just bet you don’t read a lot of war books.
Look up Chesty Puller. I think he was an episcopal or something.
“On New Guinea one Protestant chaplain complained to Puller that the Catholic chaplains were making converts among the Protestants. Puller told the chaplain that he should work harder and not come whining to him.”
he commented that the RCC sent virile younger men as chaplains who kept up in the field, ran the risks, and showed bravery. Your comment about needing priests who will lay down their lives reminded me of that.
Roger on that.
Breaking the seal of confession is one of the “Sins of the Holy Spirit”.
A government can (unlawfully) command that the seal be broken, but the priest cannot under any circumstance comply. The divine law is a higher law than any human law.
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