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.
If you rad my post to MD, you’ll see my comments about Protestants. I never said or pretended that it doesn’t.
Matter of fact, I have my own issues with the legalism I see in both the Baptist oriented churches and with what I also see as legalism in Pentecostal Churches.
No church is immune from falling into that.
However, my experience with Catholicism as a whole has been so consistent for so long that it’s likely beyond any chance of convincing me otherwise.
Nevertheless, I am sure of my destiny, much as that irritates so many Catholics.
Well said.
John 10:17-18
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus died ONCE for all. Now He’s risen and seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. Imagine that. Jesus Himself praying for us.
What threads of mine? Which ones did I post that contain that?
Did you leave because the people were not christian in their behavior, or because their church demands it's members believe a different Gospel?
And free from insults and hateful words that would send most people on a quest for justice, mm. Pity is the word that applies to those who would seek to destroy those who derive pleasure from hurting others. And I’m not talking about reproving or rebuking for the sake of God’s Word. I’m talking about plain meanness of spirit. We are in a spiritual battle, that’s for sure. You are doing a fine job of putting on the whole armor of God and fighting the good fight. And when having done all you can, continuing to STAND. Regards, smvoice
The mohammedans are also sure of their destiny. You and I may well disagree with them as to their destiny, but their certainty remains.
my experience with Catholicism as a whole
is whatever it is that it is. I cannot change it, nor do I know (beyond your own claims) what it actually is. My experience with Protestantism is so thoroughly and completely negative that in weaker moments, I wonder if it is even appropriate to call Protestantism "Christian" in any meaningful sense of the word.
f you rad my post to MD, you’ll see my comments about Protestants
I did, and I did. I don't often post on these threads any more, but I do read them.
Such a selective memory.
Initially, the former.
When I accepted Christ and became a Christian, I was convicted that I needed to get a Bible and start reading it and that I needed to start going to church again.
So the first place I went was where I was raised, the Catholic church. Then I visited an Evangelical church and alternated between the two for several months.
The more I read the Bible, the bigger discrepancy I saw between what it said and what the Catholic church taught. That settled it for me. I finally made the break.
Meanwhile, the reaction of the Catholics I worked with to that decision, some of whom were in my parish, confirmed my initial decision.
My thread history is much smaller than my posting history.
You ought to be able to find the RF threads I posted which contain the comments you claim.
If the Roman Catholics in your former parish had been nicer would you have stayed?
I'd hazard a guess that on an individual level, they're not so sure. Otherwise, why the need for the promise of heaven for those who martyr themselves?
Everything we have we receive. We have nothing that is ours. "All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee."
Like everything else we have in our essential poverty, Our Lord made a gift of Himself to us, an atoning gift. So, for the sake of atonement we offer Him back, for our sins and those of the whole world.
There's a kind of boldness in the offering, but, in my alleged mind, NOT to think Jesus was mine to offer would be to insult the gift and the giver.
And there's even a kind of divine (I hope) sneakiness in this. "When he ascends on high he takes captivity captive,"and it is because I am (again, I hope and trust) in his train as captives were paraded before their captor in the Roman "triumph", that I offer my Lord the Son to myLord the Father, trusting that I will be paraded before Jesus as he presents all to the Father.
That's possible that I would not have left initially, but the circumstances which lead to me to turning my life over to God were not connected in any way to Catholicism. If those has still occurred and I still had become a Christian, I think the outcome would be the same.
When I went back to the Catholic church, I went to mass weekly, but that was it. No interaction with anyone at that level. I would still have been reading the Bible and still would have seen the disparity between what it said and what the Catholic church taught.
It may have taken longer but I really do think that the outcome would ultimately have been the same, based on doctrinal issues.
FWIW, I won't go to any Protestant church which teaches doctrine contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, like the homosexual issue for example, or teaching that any kind of works are necessary for salvation.
I think you miss the point. They're so certain of "martyrdom = 72 virgins" that they're willing to blow themselves up. Their certainty is better attested than that of even the most ardent Calvinist. They truly put their faith (however wrong it may be) into definitive, no-turning-back action.
I think it's a cosmic tragedy that such intense devotion is given to such a hideous belief system.
Well, Scripture is either the inspired Word of God or not.
If it is, I trust in the promised God made in it to us. That is active, living faith.
If it’s not, we’re all um.... this is the RF..... in big trouble, even the Catholic church.
Catholics trust the magesterium and the CCC. I trust the Word of God.
Um, that’s *promises*
I see...That's where the failed thinking comes in...
Jesus did not offer himself to us...Jesus offered himself for us...To God...
God requires a sacrifice...Always did...Always will...Jesus became that sacrifice for us, once, for all...
We do not have Jesus to offer...He's sitting on a throne in heaven...
And there's even a kind of divine (I hope) sneakiness in this. "When he ascends on high he takes captivity captive,"and it is because I am (again, I hope and trust) in his train as captives were paraded before their captor in the Roman "triumph", that I offer my Lord the Son to myLord the Father,
But we are not captives in the sense of the phrase...The context of that phrase was when the OT saints were in Abraham's Bosom in a compartment down in Hell...They were captive behind locked doors...
Jesus went down, preached to them and unlocked the doors...That's when Jesus took captivity captive...The Gates of Hell prevailed against the OT saints...Jesus unlocked the Gates...That why he said the gates of hell will not prevail against his church...The church will rise immediately to heaven, without going to hell...
We don't go to Abraham's Bosom...
At my church 25% of our congregation are former RC's. In the end most say it was the teaching of a different gospel that got them to leave.
FWIW, I won't go to any Protestant church which teaches doctrine contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture,...
I agree, that's why so many older Evangelical Churches are losing members or having congregations split off into different factions. Christians will not stay where heresy is taught. Look at your own experience, as you began to realize that the RCC teaches a different gospel and it's doctrines were not consistent with Scripture you ultimately felt compelled to leave.
There are whole threads where you, Dr. Eckleburg, and Quix posted as a gang. Surely you remember some of the remarks you made.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.