Posted on 08/18/2011 7:18:16 AM PDT by marshmallow
So why is the seal of confession inviolable? Why does the seal bind under such a grave obligation that the Church excommunicates any confessor who directly violates it? (See: The seal of confession: some basics)
There are two principal reasons why the priest must preserve the seal: the virtue of justice and the virtue of religion. The motive of justice is evident because the penitent, by the very fact of entering the confessional, or asking the priest to hear his confession (we’ll deal with “reconciliation rooms” another day) rightly expects that the priest will observe the seal. This is a contract entered into by the fact of the priest agreeing to hear a person’s confession. To mandate the violation of the seal is in effect to prohibit the celebration of the sacrament of Penance.
Much more grave than the obligation of justice towards the penitent is the obligation of religion due to the sacrament. The Catholic Encyclopaedia gives a brief explanation of the virtue of religion which essentially summarises the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas. (Summa Theologica 2a 2ae q.81) Religion is a moral virtue by which we give to God what is His due; it is, as St Thomas says, a part of justice. In the case of the sacrament of Penance, instituted by Christ, Fr Felix Cappello explains things well [my translation]:
By the very fact that Christ permitted, nay ordered, that all baptised sinners should use the sacrament and consequently make a secret confession, he granted an absolutely inviolable right, transcending the order of natural justice, to use this remedy. Therefore the knowledge which was their own before confession, after the communication made in confession, remains their own for every non-sacramental use, and that by a power altogether sacred, which no contrary human law can strike out, since every human law is of an inferior order: whence this right cannot be taken away or overridden by any means, or any pretext, or any motive.
The penitent confesses his sins to God through the priest. If the seal were to be broken under some circumstances, it would put people off the sacrament and thereby prevent them from receiving the grace that they need in order to repent and amend their lives. It would also, and far more importantly, obstruct the will of God for sinners to make use of the sacrament of Penance and thereby enjoy eternal life. The grace of the sacrament is absolutely necessary for anyone who commits a mortal sin. To mandate the violation of the seal is in effect to prohibit the practice of the Catholic faith. Some secular commentators have spoken of the seal of confession as being somehow a right or privilege of the priest. That is a preposterous misrepresentation: it is a sacred and inviolable duty that the priest must fulfil for the sake of the penitent and for the sake of God's will to redeem sinners.
A possibly misleading phrase in this context is where theologians say that the penitent is confessing his sins as if to God "ut Deo." (You can easily imagine secularists deriding the idea that the priest makes himself to be a god etc.) In truth, the penitent is confessing his sins before God. The priest acts as the minister of Christ in a sacred trust which he may not violate for any cause - precisely because he is not in fact God. By virtue of the penitent’s confession ut Deo, the priest absolves the penitent and, if mortal sin is involved, thereby readmits him to Holy Communion.
There will be more to follow on the sacrament of confession. As I mentioned in my previous post, this series is not intended as a guide for making a devout confession but rather as an introduction to some canonical and theological questions regarding the sacrament which have become important recently. (For a leaflet on how to make a good confession, see my parish website.)
I have been told that the threat in Ireland to introduce a law compelling priests to violate the seal of confession has been withdrawn, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, I will continue with these posts because I think that the Irish proposal will be picked up by other secularists and may pose a problem for us. Further posts will look at the proper place, time and vesture for hearing confessions, one or two more particular crimes in canon law, the question of jurisdiction and the much misused expression “Ecclesia supplet”, and, of course, what to do if the civil authority tries to compel a priest to break the seal.
That’s one of the differences between your religion and my personal relationship with Christ. I don’t need to wait to be in some building or ritualistic setting. I simply address Him anywhere at any time because He is always listening and always with me.
Exactly...Their magisterium somehow neglected to put that in their catechism; so how would they know???
Regardless of what your catechism may say, the Apostles were not priests...
I couldn't tell you what's in the nicene creed...I couldn't care less what's in the nicene creed...I don't need any creed other the the words of God in the scriptures...
I understand ,dear friend,it's all about something new founded by you that even the reformers did not know -it's all about your new age unhistorical interpretation and guessing Are you a free republic prophet now?
May you seek the face of YHvH Shabbat Shalom
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
on this Shabbat in His WORD.
I do that too and pray consistently,but I also realize that His True Presence in the Eucharist is faith beyond my own selfish time
Christianity is self sacrifice ,not just prayer of convenience
Shabbat Shalomshalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiachMay you seek the face of YHvH
on this Shabbat in His WORD.The Torah reading for this week is
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
I've brought you today to the crossroads of Blessing and Curse.
And you said you copied and pasted it right from the Original Greek...
That's quite a whopper...
Oh, and BTW, Peter knew nothing about Gentiles coming into the church til Acts 10...
You abridged it and melded it to the original commission - call it practice - in Matthew 10 which might be read as one and the same. These are separate and distinct. They occurred years apart and without one of the original players - Judas. Might you be caught out in your own posts?
HaHaHa...You guys have to find your biblical truth all in one chapter...Sometimes all in one verse, or part of a verse...And that's why you come up empty handed so often...
That's not the way the Holy Spirit wrote the bible...
I see His face at Adoration completely and invite you to do the same.
All protestants are welcome at Adoration- Let me know if I can show you where to go in your area?
Christianity is Christ!!!! It's about Him dying on the cross, paying the penalty we can't pay ourselves.
It's about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.
Is that some sort of self aggrandizing statement? Nothing I do for Christ is a sacrifice. I would consider it an honor to die for Him.
Well certainly it's Christian...People have been posting scripture after scripture after scripture showing you just that...
I'm not surprised that you guys don't know how that works, or why that works...
Never rode in a Limo...That's going to be fun...
We've already gained it...We're sealed...And that is Good News...
Not so fast. Show me where in Scripture where it says that 100% of the Revealed Word is contained in the Scripture and where is says that everything not in the Scripture ist verboten. Until you do I am not going to feel compelled to adhere to a 16th century heretical construct.
“”Nothing I do for Christ is a sacrifice. I would consider it an honor to die for Him.””
Death for the good of others is the ultimate sacrifice of self and love for others if it is done of love and imitation of Christ-honor is pride of self and expectation of reward
“Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
LOL. I'm not hurt by your petulance, but I'll bet Jesus was. I was just trying to get a demonstration of whether we are dealing with a vindictive crone or a fine Christian woman. I think it was made it pretty clear which.
Christianity is about denying OURSELVES for fellow man and being willing to join in suffering if that is His will
Last week I was an Arian heretic, this week I'm a Gnostic? Ya going down a list or something??? ;o)
But, unlike Pope Peter, I would not take my eyes off Jesus. I KNOW better.
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