Vatican: Seal of Confession
always inviolable, despite civil law
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| Pope Francis hears a priest's confession (ANSA) |
In a note published on Monday, the Vatican reaffirms the
inviolability of the Seal of Confession, saying any political or legislative
attempts to force priests to reveal what is said in the confessional is a
violation of religious freedom.
By Devin Watkins
The Apostolic Penitentiary released the “Note on the
importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal”
on Monday.
Approved for publication by Pope Francis on 21 June, the
Note upholds the absolute inviolability of the Seal of Confession, meaning that
priests can never be forced to reveal what they learn in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
“The inviolable secrecy of Confession derives directly from
revealed divine law and is rooted in the very nature of the sacrament, to the
point of admitting no exception in the ecclesial or, even less so, in the civil
sphere. In the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in fact, the
very essence of Christianity itself and of the Church is encapsulated: the Son
of God became man to save us, and He decided to involve the Church, as a
“necessary instrument” in this work of salvation, and, in her, those whom He
has chosen, called, and constituted as His ministers,” the Note reads.
Violation of religious freedom
Any political or legislative pressure to override this
sacramental seal, it continues, would be “an unacceptable offense” against the
Church’s freedom, which comes from God and not human institutions, and would be
“a violation of religious freedom”. “Violation of the Seal would equal a
violation of the poor person that is within the sinner.”
Priests, the Note reads, should therefore defend the Seal of
Confession even to the point of shedding blood, both as an act of loyalty to
the penitent and as a witness – martyrium – to the unique and
universal salvation of Christ and the Church.
Media frenzy
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic
Penitentiary, who signed the Note with Msgr. Krzysztof Nykiel, the Regent,
released a statement to explain the Note’s content.
He said the Note comes in response to the media-centric
nature of modern society, which he said is more interested in getting the story
out than verifying the facts. “Everything today is in view; everything must be
known,” he said.
Pope Francis, he noted, recently
said, “The internal forum is an internal forum, and it cannot go
‘outside’.… It is a sin against the dignity of the person who trusts the
priest, and who expresses his or own situation to ask for forgiveness”.
‘Negative prejudice’
The Note also contests a “worrying ‘negative prejudice’
against the Catholic Church in society.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Piacenza said
there is “an unjustifiable pretense that the Church should, in some manner,
conform her juridical system to the civil laws of States where she operates… We
must work with [the State], in everything that is not the sacramental forum.”
The goal in releasing the note, said Cardinal Piacenza, is
“to instill greater trust, especially in these times, in penitents who come to
confess themselves… and ultimately to advance the cause of the sacrifice of
Christ who came to take away the sins of the world.”
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