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To: AnAmericanMother
So if you hear a confession of murder, you are obliged to let it happen? Read Romans 1 last verse. He is as guilty as the murderers if he did nothing to stop it.

I think the Catholic church has already gone through this several times in the past. If you hear of a child being tortured and murdered, you MUST tell someone. If you know of any crimes being confessed to, you must reveal it. If someone is running around on his wife, that's different. If someone wanted to kill Hillary, you must say something even if you don't vote for her. It's called "right and wrong." Taking an oath to hide crimes is a cult indication. I wonder how many priests are in Hell for protecting the mob?

34 posted on 11/29/2007 1:17:11 PM PST by chuckles
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To: chuckles

“So if you hear a confession of murder, you are obliged to let it happen? Read Romans 1 last verse. He is as guilty as the murderers if he did nothing to stop it.”

Realistically, a priest is in no way responcible for what people choose to do with their own immortal souls. He can provide guidance, certainly, and there are priests who have broken their vows to report particularly vile crimes. But let’s also not pretend there aren’t people who go to confession as a form of therapy, and make all sorts of absurd claims or vent through what they’d like to do to people. How is a priest to determine who is legitimate? Further, there’s always some punk kid, or adult, who thinks it’d be good for a laugh to tell a priest some horrific, though false, story that they won’t be able to get out of their head.

There is actually even a list online, I didn’t bother to read it (just googled it to back myself up here) called “50 fun things to do during confession.” I may be horribly misjudging the slant of the article, but I would guess saying you commited a terrible crime is probably on the list.


38 posted on 11/29/2007 2:07:08 PM PST by COgamer
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To: chuckles
Your obviously fact-free speculation is way off base.

A priest may (and in some cases is obliged to) withhold absolution until the person confesses his or her crime to the civil authorities. They can be pretty forceful with that tack. (Read Giovanni Guareschi's Little World of Don Camillo, where a Communist assassin tries to get absolution from Don Camillo at gunpoint. He does not succeed.)

But the Seal is absolute. (By the way, a legal privilege is accorded in law to Protestant ministers, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, accountants, and physicians. I guess they're all members of a cult?)

39 posted on 11/29/2007 3:31:46 PM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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