Can a priest tell anyone your confession?

The CLME website says that “if a penitent has indicated that he fully intends to kill or harm ‘Person X’, a priest may be able to warn the police that Person X is in danger, but without fully explaining how he obtained this information”.

Do priests have confidentiality?

All U.S. states have laws protecting the confidentiality of certain communications under the priest-penitent privilege. The First Amendment is often considered the basis of such a privilege.

Can a priest refuse to testify?

State laws generally exempt a pastor from having to testify in court, or to law-enforcement, about what was discussed in a church confession. The so-called priest-penitent privilege, however, can be challenged in court. And some states are changing their laws in response to a rash of clergy child-abuse cases.

Is confession privileged?

In most states, information gained within a confession or private conversation is considered privileged and may be exempted from mandatory reporting requirements.

Is confession legally confidential?

In United States law, confessional privilege is a rule of evidence that forbids the inquiry into the content or even existence of certain communications between clergy and church members.

Can a priest refuse confession?

According to Roman Catholic canon law, “The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.” The confessor is always an ordained priest, because in the Catholic Church only ordained priests can absolve …

Can Catholic confession be used in court?

Generally speaking, yes — but not always. Statements made to a minister, priest, rabbi, or other religious leader are generally considered privileged or confidential communications.

Can a priest mention a confession he heard but not identify it?

In other words, there may be occasions when a priest may mention a confession which he heard, but in a way that does not reveal the identity of the person who made it. Seminary professors, for example, can provide their moral theology students with examples of concrete ethical situations that they encountered in the course of hearing confessions.

Can a confessor reveal the contents of a Penitent’s Confession?

(Part I) ,” the Church’s position on priests revealing the contents of a penitent’s confession is unequivocal: canon 983.1 tells us that the sacramental seal is inviolable, and it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent, for any reason whatsoever, either by word or in any other fashion.

Can you hear what is being said in the confessional?

Or someone waiting in line for confession may inadvertently hear what the person ahead of him is telling the priest inside the confessional. All such persons are actually bound by canon law to keep what they hear to themselves.

Do Catholics ever confess their crimes to a priest?

While most Catholics will never confess such heinous actions, it is important for all of us to be sure that what a penitent has confessed remains between him, his confessor, and God Himself. (Part II can be read here .) Why is Google hiding the posts on this website in its search results?