If someone confesses something illegal, will the priest report it?

Assuming this “confession” happens within the sacrament of reconciliation (also called the sacrament of confession), the answer is most definitely no. To quote the Catechism, “… the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents’ lives. This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the ‘sacramental seal,’ because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains ‘sealed’ by the sacrament.”

This is something priests do not take lightly. It is so serious, in fact, that if a priest makes known something he has learned in the sacrament of reconciliation, he is automatically excommunicated. In that state, he could no longer celebrate or receive the sacraments. His life as a priest would be over. Under Church law, only the Pope’s authority can remove such a penalty. This punishment serves to remind the priest that he must answer to God for the violation of the trust placed in him by the Church and the people. Consequently, priests would rather go to jail, suffer persecution or even martyrdom before they would choose to violate the seal of confession.

The Church takes this seriously because of the importance and the power of this sacrament. As the Catechism explains, “Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church.” If someone does something illegal and feels great remorse, they need to be able to approach the sacrament whereby God will forgive them. Confession needs to be a place of absolute freedom. Nobody would go to confession if they thought doing so would land them in jail.

If, during confession, a penitent does admit to having done something illegal, the priest may counsel the person to turn themselves in to civil authorities, but he cannot require them to do so. As the priest assigns an appropriate penance, he likewise cannot require the penitent to admit to anyone what he or she has done. The confessional is a place where the worst of sinners are free to speak and receive guidance to set things right.

Thankfully, at least for now, conversations between a person and a “spiritual advisor,” when the advisor is acting in that capacity, are still protected even in civil law. For Catholics, this means priests cannot be legally required to testify to something they heard in confession. This is good, but we cannot take it for granted. There are occasional legal challenges to the seal around the country. Some lawyers and courts would very much like to listen in on confessions. Most recently in 2021, right here in North Dakota, Senate Bill 2180 would have forced priests to choose between violating the seal or facing legal trouble. This is an easy choice for a priest to make. To quote St. Peter, “we must obey God rather than men!” That said, it is much better when priests can minister freely, without such a legal threat. Thankfully, the bill was withdrawn.

Even if such a bill had passed, there are problems with the idea a priest can report what he hears. Remember, people often confess through a screen and the priest does not always know who the penitent is. Thus, he cannot report with any certainty who said what.

The truth is that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy, which He freely dispenses to us through the sacrament of reconciliation. There, we can trust that what we say is between ourselves and God alone. God merely works through the priest to give us advice and the consolation of hearing, with our ears, those beautiful words, “I absolve you from your sins...”

Father Signalness is pastor of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary in Stanley and St. Ann in Berthhold. If you have a question you were afraid to ask, now is the time to ask it! Simply email your question to [email protected] with “Question Afraid to Ask” in the subject line.