Can a priest ever acceptable break the vow of silence from a confession.

Jump to Last Post 1-6 of 6 discussions (8 posts)
  1. Winter Maclen profile image59
    Winter Maclenposted 12 years ago

    Can a priest ever acceptable break the vow of silence from a confession.

    I just saw a tv show that asked a morale question.  If a roman catholic priest hears a confession, can he reveal it if the revelation will protect an innocent. Is the vow invalid if the confessor isn't sincere in his repentance.

  2. madmachio profile image60
    madmachioposted 12 years ago

    No he can not. If it's said in confession he can not talk about it to anyone else. Even to other priests.

  3. Bretsuki profile image68
    Bretsukiposted 12 years ago

    Hello, I believe a priest is obligated to obey the law.

    He cannot use the sanctity of the confessional to protect a criminal who has confessed to a crime.
    He must also inform on anyone whom he believes is a danger to others as a result of anything said in confession. So for instance if a confessor threatened murder, the priest is obliged to inform the authorities or face a charge of being an accessory before the fact or even an accomplice in the crime.
    Canon (Church) Law is subserviant to national or Secular Law in terms of criminal acts.

    A priest is not meant to be his own judge and jury and cannot decide if a penitant person is seriously penitant. In that God is the judge.

  4. Dubuquedogtrainer profile image60
    Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years ago

    Under the law, and morally as well as ethically I would think he could to protect someone from endangerment - either form hurting someone else or him or herself. That is generally the way it is for all professionals, and I think the same should hold true for a priest.

  5. heavenbound5511 profile image66
    heavenbound5511posted 12 years ago

    They are not supposed  to.

    Remember the Bible tell us- "Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven".Matthew 23:9

    We don't have to go to a Priest and address him as "Father"  and confess our sins.
    This falls into man traditions not God's.

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9

    In him(Jesus) and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.Ephesians 3:12

    For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.Ephesians 2:18 (Holy Spirit-Matthew 3:11,Titus 3:5

    the concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. We are to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). As New Covenant believers, we do not need mediators between us and God. We can go to God directly because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 1 Timothy 2:5; “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

    1. Dubuquedogtrainer profile image60
      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Amen!

  6. Agnes Penn profile image60
    Agnes Pennposted 12 years ago

    Priests cannot reveal what is said in confession.  The same way that once the trust between a man and woman in marriage is broken and damage can be irreparable, though forgivable, the relationship between a priest and the Church (Its members) most be maintained. 
    It's commendable that people read the Scriptures for answers, but not with a judgmental attitude towards the Church.  Instead, led by the Holy Spirit in prayer. 
    When St. Peter denied Jesus three times he did not loose hope, like Judas did, but faced his sin.  Jesus, in turn after the resurrection, asked Peter to confirm his love three times.  Peter understood his sin and the opportunity to amend it as he shows by being overcome with emotion and sorrow. 
    This is what we do in confession.  We face our sin.  We confess it to the descendants of Peter and they impart absolution for anything they hold bound on earth will be held bound in heaven and anything loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven.  The Church will stand, even if some of Its members abuse or understand little how to live in It.  And the Sacrament of Confession will be the means to heal It's members as Peter was healed.

    1. madmachio profile image60
      madmachioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well said!

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)