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.
You’re right...Extremely weak...Clearly they don’t have a very good grasp of God’s Heaven...
Are you saying that Mad Dawg is intimidating? In my judgment, nothing could be further from the truth. He will pray for you, I am sure. Just as I will pray for both of you.
Ooo, I just noticed that I had post 777....
Just like a soul. Just like the Father. Just like the Holy Spirit.
So we, along with Jesus are just going to float around the universe for eternity, eh???
I don't buy it...Jesus says he is going, to prepare a place for us...He certainly doesn't have to prepare,,,nothing...
Daniel 12:9-10
He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
Acts 15:8-10
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?
I Peter 1:21-23
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
God made Himself subject to time. “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” Gen. 1:14. No one but God made this time.
Interesting.....
Peter himself says we are purified and that we have been born again.
Imagine that.
I Peter 1:21-23
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Mad Dawg scares me. Sometimes I have to refill my hot chocolate, so that I calm down and feel better.
That's accurate but that's not heaven...The state of being is changed before one sets one foot in heaven...
AND...not a drop of "water" is mentioned.
Pro 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
You might want to pay heed...
Hey, you win the jackpot...
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
I don't believe that God intended us to belabor over our every little sin constantly but to "throw it off" and not let it entangle (beset) us over and over again in the race or course he has set out for us. We should strive to always keep our eyes on Jesus who is the author, pioneer and perfecter of our faith so that we will not ever grow weary and lose heart no matter how bad we mess up. This is not saying sin doesn't matter to our Father, it does because it trips us up and entangles us rather than us smoothly running our race. It causes guilt and self-condemnation as well as hurting others. But he DOES forgive us - he is FAITHFUL to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Just as a marathon runner lays aside anything that would weigh him down or cause him to trip up, we should recognize that through Christ we can have victory over sin. Not just the eternal consequences, but in the day to day walk and life as children of God. If we fall, we can get right back up. We should acknowledge that we HAVE been justified and declared righteous in Christ by grace through faith in him but we also, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, can be victorious right now in the nasty here and now. That, to me, is the whole purpose of confession whether to a priest, to friends or just to God alone, it is part of the process of moving forward in living victoriously in Jesus Christ.
You're not referring to me, are you? Or are you talking about a certain Great Gatsby fan.........
F. Scott Fitzgerald would be proud.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Gal 6:7
A fellow Catholic asked me to let bygones be bygones. I agreed.
I'm still letting bygones be bygones. You are free to think mm is not reaping what she sowed. The proof exists. Anyone who wants it can find it.
LOL! pm alert!
#833 Amen!
“Nobody can receive grace to enable a spiritual act from another human being. It comes from God alone.”
So Jesus was a liar when he told Peter, “whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven?”
Seems pretty clear to me that Christ chose to endow the apostles with the authority to forgive sins.
“So Jesus was a liar when he told Peter, “whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven?”
The first problem with your statement is that wasn’t what Jesus said. The translators have the tenses off and that changes the whole meaning.
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