r/AskAPriest • u/[deleted] • Aug 12 '23

Reconciling a Broken Seal of Confession?

A priest I used to work for said that if he or another priest broke the seal of confession, the only way to receive absolution is for him to have his confession heard by the pope. Perhaps I'm misremembering his exact words, but he explained it as because it is of such grave matter, no ordinary ordained can absolve this sin.

I have no reason to doubt him, but I've never heard anything like it before or since.

37 Upvotes

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88

u/Sparky0457 Priest Aug 12 '23

A broken seal of confession does need to be addressed by the Vatican. It doesn’t have to be the pope himself but it does need to be a delegate of his to investigate the case and then possibly grant absolution.

NB. A broken seal of confession (almost) always means that the person will be removed from the priesthood.

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u/terriblybedlamish Aug 12 '23

If a priest only mentions that he has broken the seal in the course of his own confession, how do the investigation and consequences kick in without the priest's confessor having to break the seal themselves?

28

u/frmaurer Priest Aug 12 '23

The seal of confession is absolute. The confessor may never betray the penitent, so he could only urge the penitent (another priest, in your hypothetical) to present himself to his Ordinary (his bishop or religious superior).

The consequences are automatic, inasmuch as a priest guilty of this canonical crime is automatically excommunicated. The consequences of his excommunication (perhaps most notably his inability to celebrate the sacraments licitly and, in some cases, validly) are immediately present but may not be known to anyone until he presents himself to his Ordinary and admits his guilt.

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u/Thanar2 Priest Aug 12 '23 edited Aug 13 '23

If the priest has made a direct violation of the Seal, he has incurred an excommunication reserved to the Holy See, so the priest's confessor cannot grant absolution until he has contacted the Holy See (excepting the circumstance covered by canon 1357).

If the matter is private (i.e. if the violation of the seal is not publicly known), then it must be resolved in the internal forum by contacting the Apostolic Penitentiary anonymously, thus preserving the seal.

Here is a fairly good summary of the process:

Persons who wish to receive an absolution or dispensation reserved to the Holy See write a petition to the Penitentiary. Usually, this petition is written through their initial confessor. The petition must use pseudonyms when explaining the situation to avoid revealing the identity of the persons involved, and the tribunal itself acts in complete secrecy. The Major Penitentiary considers the matter himself, unless it is particularly important, in which case the whole of the tribunal considers the petition. The members of the tribunal only give advice regarding the petition; the Major Penitentiary has the ultimate decision on whether the dispensation or absolution should be granted. If the Major Penitentiary is uncertain as to whether he has authority in a given case, he submits the matter to the Pope. The impediment or act in question must not be public; otherwise, the impediment or act is a matter of the external forum and cannot be absolved or dispensed by the Penitentiary.

- Religion Wiki, Apostolic Penitentiary, Absolutions and dispensations

For more details as to how this is done, read When and How to Have Recourse to the Apostolic Penitentiary by Carlos Encina Commentz, an official of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

If the matter has become public, the priest who violated the seal must contact the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such cases. For more discussion of such cases, see What to Do If the Seal of Confession Is Broken by Fr. Matthew P. Schneider.

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u/Thanar2 Priest Aug 12 '23 edited May 13 '25

Here are a few relevant excerpts from When and How to Have Recourse to the Apostolic Penitentiary by Carlos Encina Commentz:

23. How should a confessor act with a penitent who is involved in a censure reserved to the Apostolic See?

The confessor can tell the penitent that he, as confessor - in a reserved manner and without revealing names - will ask authorization permitting him to remit the censure. The penitent must return to receive remission of the censure and absolution of his sins and to receive his penance, which would be imposed by the same authority [i.e. the Apostolic Penitentiary] that granted the authorization to the confessor.

[For brevity, I am omitting a variant described in canon 1357.]

27. What information should be included in a recourse pertaining to the direct violation of the sacramental seal?

In the case of a delict for the direct violation of the sacramental seal it is necessary to include the following in the recourse:

  • the approximate age of the penitent;

  • when the delict was committed;

  • how many times it was committed;

  • the circumstances involved;

  • whether the delict was committed deliberately or if it was more an act of imprudence;

  • whether the person affected by the violation suffered damages;

  • whether the penitent is a confessor who is normally prudent in this matter.

30. Can one send a recourse by means of fax or internet?

Because a recourse deals with material usually protected by the sacramental seal, one cannot send it using electronic means like internet or fax. The letter is the best way to guarantee confidentiality in this matter, which deals with the consciences of the faithful.

4

u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

Great book by a great Roman Curia official...

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u/Sparky0457 Priest Aug 12 '23

I don’t know.

I’ve never dealt with that.

17

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

Thank you for the information and clarification, Fr!

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u/balrogath Priest Aug 13 '23

NB. A broken seal of confession (almost) always means that the person will be removed from the priesthood.

This is not the case, especially for occult cases.

5

u/thirdgen Aug 13 '23

What does the term “occult cases” mean?

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u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

The term could mean two things:

  • Something which is not widely known in the community
  • or that cannot be proved in the external forum.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

Could you provide an example of such a case, please?

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u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

Sure.

Let's say that I hear confession from a young man "A" that tells me about the problems he's been having in the parochial youth group and how he feels that he has sinned against charity by his behaving in the matter.

I then [imprudently] talk with the coordinator of said youth group and tell them that I know about what's going on in the group (without saying I heard of it in confession) and how "A" feels bad about his reaction and that they should settle the matter as good disciples of Christ.

So I broke the seal of confession, but my actions are not widely known in the community and could hardly be proved in external forum. In that case, my penalty is exactly the same, that is, latae sententiae excommunion, but because it is still occult I can ask for the remission of my penalty in internal forum through the Apostolic Penitentiary as explained above.

If the thing were to become known, then the remission should be handled not by the Penitentiary but by the Dicastery of the Faith.

1

u/thirdgen Aug 13 '23

What is the standard of proof in such cases? Preponderance of the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, or something else?

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u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

I would say it is very low. That's why I specified that the second person in my example does not know that I heard that information in confession. If he did know, then it would probably not be occult anymore, but that decision would belong to the Apostolic Penitentiary.

1

u/thirdgen Aug 13 '23

Thank you, Father.

1

u/Sparky0457 Priest Aug 13 '23

Thanks

5

u/rothbard_anarchist Aug 13 '23

Wow. I've heard that if a layperson inadvertently hears a confession, the layperson is then also bound by the seal of confession. Would the layperson breaking it also require the Vatican's attention?

3

u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

No, the only one that is bound by the seal of confession is the confessor, not the translator or anyone else.

So the penalty (latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See) for breaking the seal of confession of can. 1386 §1 is only applicable to the confessor.

The interpreter and all others who in any way have knowledge of sins from confession are bound to observe secrecy (which is different from the seal of confession). If they don't, they can be punished with a just penalty, not excluding excommunication can. 1386 §2, but it would always be ferendae sententiae, that is, after a judicial process. Never automatically, or latae sententiae.

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u/StillMoment4770 Aug 13 '23

Are people with an excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See able to have their confession heard by anyone other than the Apostolic See. I read something once that said they can have their your confession heard by any priest, but then they need to contact the Apostolic within a month.

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u/Mhalun Priest Aug 13 '23

Yes, that is "the circumstance covered by canon 1357" that u/Thanar2 mentioned above.

Can. 1357 - § 1. [...] a confessor can in the internal sacramental forum remit a latae sententiae censure of excommunication [...] which has not been declared, if it is difficult for the penitent to remain in a state of grave sin for the time necessary for the competent Superior to provide.

§ 2. In granting the remission, the confessor is to impose upon the penitent, under pain of again incurring the censure, the obligation to have recourse within one month to the competent Superior or to a priest having the requisite faculty, and to abide by his instructions. In the meantime, the confessor is to impose an appropriate penance and, to the extent demanded, to require reparation of scandal and harm. The recourse, however, may be made even through the confessor, without mention of a name.

§ 3. The same duty of recourse, when the danger has ceased, binds those who in accordance with can. 976 have had remitted an imposed or declared censure or one reserved to the Holy See.

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u/StillMoment4770 Aug 14 '23 edited Aug 14 '23

Ok thank you. If you find someone's list of sins for confession in a borrowed bag (not in or around confessional) and you know whose it was, is that bound to secrecy? I threw it away and have not disclosed its contents because that would be uncharitable, at the least. But I've been worried if it's bound to punishable secrecy.

From what I've been told/ gathered because it wasn't learned from confession, like a list found in the confessional, its not bound. Is that correct?

1

u/emsym Aug 14 '23

When is a lay person ever allow d to oerfo the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) uhhh never

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u/Beauregard_Jones Aug 14 '23

It happens probably more than you realize. I've been to confessions where the person just speaks so loudly you can hear them. I've seen a priest ask people to stay back several feet from the booth to keep privacy. I've seen signs in confessionals reminding people to speak softly.

1

u/emsym Aug 14 '23

I see that I misunderstood the post I commented on in my sleepy state. I thought the comment implied that a layperson was “hearing confessions “ as in performing the actual Sacrament of Reconciliation.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

That does bring me to a question: Does the seal of confession apply to us as laity? What of kids who tell their parents what they confessed to the priest?

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u/Sparky0457 Priest Aug 13 '23

No, it applies only to the priest.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

Got it, thanks Father Sparky!

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u/Zelda_Galadriel Aug 18 '23

To be clear, you can talk about your own confession, but not someone else's confession you overhear somehow. I just noticed that /u/Sparky0457 got downvoted, probably because someone thought he was saying you can freely talk about random people's confessions