[Ziggamafu]

I was told that the seal of confession is not only binding on the priest, but the person who confesses his sins - meaning i cant reveal anything that i confessed. is that true? are there any exceptions or circumstances where i should reveal what i confessed?

[cathqat]

Here's what the Code of Canon Law says:

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Canon 983 §1 The sacramental seal is inviolable. Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion.

§2 An interpreter, if there is one, is also obliged to observe this secret, as are all others who in any way whatever have come to a knowledge of sins from a confession.

Can. 984 §1 The confessor is wholly forbidden to use knowledge acquired in confession to the detriment of the penitent, even when all danger of disclosure is excluded.

§2 A person who is in authority may not in any way, for the purpose of external governance, use knowledge about sins which has at any time come to him from the hearing of confession.

No one may betray the penitent, whether the confessor, an interpreter, or anyone else who might be present. But the canon does not forbid the penitent admitting his own sins to other people.

Note that Canon 983 §2 says "others who... have come to knowledge of sins from a confession." Just to be really clear: that doesn't include you, if you are the penitent, because you had knowledge before the confession.

[Totus Tuus]

That's so interesting about interpreters... not that they can't break the seal, that's obvious... but that there actually are interpreters for confession. I suppose if someone was mute then there would be, but I would assume that in most cases there are priests available for all languages, right? Has anyone ever gone to confession with an interpreter for another language? (I suppose this would be common in Rome or something?)
Interesting :)

[cathqat]

I once met an American woman whose husband was from Honduras. The first time she went to confession in Spanish, she had to practice all the words she would be confessing. But she still messed up: instead of asking to be forgiven "porque he pecado" (I have sinned) she said "porque he pescado" (because I have fished). The priest chuckled and said, "So, did you catch anything?" ^_^

[cathqat]

In St. Peter's in Rome they have different confessionals for different languages. But an interpreter would be really handy for tourists in less frequented spots.

[JP2Iloveyou]

I just got back from Rome and they do have confessions in most major languages in the major basilicas. However, I was also in Spain on a pilgrimage and I had to confess in Spanish twice which wasn't a big deal. However, the time could certainly arise when one would need to confess in a language he or she has no knowlege of. If that is the case, then an interpreter could be most useful because it is necessary for the priest to understand what is being confessed to him.

There is an interesting story with this actually. There once was a cardinal named Giuseppe Mezzofanti. Cardinal Mezzofanti was one of the most gifted linguists the world has ever known. He was FLUENT in over 50 languages and was able to converse in more than 20 others. These numbers do not include various dialects, which he was also a master of. Anyway, one day two German men were going to be executed for their faith and they wanted to go to Confession. The problem was that there was no priest around who spoke German. Cardinal Mezzofanti said that he would learn German and hear their confessions. In one WEEKEND he became fluent in German. I'm assuming most of you have studied a foreign language a little bit and you can all probably attest to how remarkable that is. German is a dificult language to pick up anyway, but to do it in two days is quite simply miraculous. God is good.

[Antonius]

Just to clarify the numbers.... from newadvent.org.

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According to Russell, Cardinal Mezzofanti spoke perfectly thirty-eight languages, among which were: biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldean, Coptic, Armenian, ancient and modern, Persian, Turkish, Albanian, Maltese, Greek, ancient and modern, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, English, Illyrian, Russian, Polish, Bohemian, Magyar, Chinese, Syriac, Gees, Amharic, Hindustani, Guzerati, Basque, Wallachian, and Californian; he spoke thirty other languages, less perfectly, and fifty dialects of the languages mentioned above. His knowledge of these languages was intuitive, rather than analytic, he left no scientific works, although some studies in comparative linguistics are to be found among his manuscripts, which he left, in part, to the municipal library, and in part to the library of the University of Bologna.

Pretty impressive. I wonder if knowing those many languages is a miracle in itself? Surely it is the gift of tongues, but in a different way.

On the topic's subject, the other posts are right. You are bound to not reveal things you overhear in the confessional when you're waiting your turn. However, it is your discretion to tell people your past faults.

[argent_paladin]

Antonius, on Feb 16 2005, 01:08 AM, said:

According to Russell, Cardinal Mezzofanti spoke perfectly thirty-eight languages, among which were: biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldean, Coptic, Armenian, ancient and modern, Persian, Turkish, Albanian, Maltese, Greek, ancient and modern, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, English, Illyrian, Russian, Polish, Bohemian, Magyar, Chinese, Syriac, Gees, Amharic, Hindustani, Guzerati, Basque, Wallachian, and Californian

Wow, the only one of those i am fluent in is, like, you know, Californian, dude.

[Theoketos]

But back to the Topic.

Never lie about sinning. Sin like mold breeds in the dark.