Catholic Church will Never Violate Seal of Confession: Vatican Official

August 2, 2011: The regent of the Holy See’s apostolic penitentiary, Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, firmly stated that the Catholic Church will never divulge the confession of a penitent. He was reacting to the proposed new law in Ireland. On July 14, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny promised to introduce a new law that would establish a prison sentence of five years for priests who do not inform civil authorities about cases of sexual abuse revealed to them in confession.
“Ireland can pass whatever laws it wants, but it must know that the Church will never submit to forcing confessors to inform civil officials,” said the Archbishop.


The proposed law contradicts Canon Law, which defends the inviolability of the seal of confession and prohibits confessors from breaking it. Archbishop Girotti said, “A confessor who breaks the seal of confession is subject to automatic excommunication by the Church,” and therefore the proposed measure is “absurd and unacceptable.”
“Confession is a private affair that allows the penitent to amend and purify himself. The seal is a necessary condition,” he said. “If they want to violate confession, the Church’s answer will always be no.”