Do priest report people to the authorities when confessing that they have stolen something?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 8
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A priest CANNOT report anything confessed "within the confessional". It is a private conversation between the individual and "God" which is protected by law. If the person says something to a priest outside the confessional then the priest may choose to report the matter to authorities.
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No. ( I believe it is a sacred comfidence) well they're not suppose to.
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No. They aren't allowed to report anything. They only sometimes do if they know that telling the authorities will save innocent people for being hurt or something. They also tell if God has come to them and told them to contact someone. Otherwise they aren't supposed to.
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But they may refuse to give you absolution and send you to the archbishop for certain kinds of grave sins considered to lead automatically to be excommunicated (such as adultery).
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no its illegal i think
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I have been told by several priest friends of mine that they never break the sanctity of the confessional. If this question comes from guilt because you, yourself, has stolen something, you must make restitution to the party that you have stolen from. You need not identify yourself, but you must repay either in kind or in the monetary equivalent of what was stolen. If you feel comfortable writing a short, unsigned note, explaining why you have sent this item or the cash, do so. If not, just do it and then return to the priest and tell that that you have corrected your wrong and that you now need absolution.
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No. A priest cannot repeat anything told him as part of a confession. The Code of Canon Law states: 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. Violation of the seal of confession results in immediate excommunication of the priest. Priests may discuss things in general terms. One priest said that hearing the confessions of second graders is like getting bombarded with cotton balls. For more information, see the Code of Canon Law: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3G.HTM With love in Christ.
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NO. They CANNOT do this. If a priest were to do this his soul would be condemned to hell for eternity according to established catholic beliefs. What the priest can do is pressure the pennitent to turn themselves into authorities. Courts have allowed priests to keep these secrets. As an attorney I can tell you this is called the priest-pennitant privelege and it is respected by the courts. This of course does not preclude the priest from using persuasion or guilt to get a wrong-doer to own up to the criminal behavior.
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