Hints of Things to Come?

The National Catholic Register is reporting that in Ireland some lawmakers are trying to pass legislation that would require priests to break the seal of the confessional if a pedophile confesses.

Please note that this law has not passed, but even if it did, no priest would be permitted to obey it. The seal of the confessional is absolute. There is no power on earth that can compromise it. No one within or outside of the Church can ever demand that the content of a confession be revealed. A priest cannot even give the slightest hint as to the matter of a confession.

But think of it…. a government is trying to force the issue.

The Church is being attacked at its heart. The effects of the sins of some are having an effect on public opinion and public respect for even the sacraments. The public’s anger and mistrust is understandable, given the whole sexual abuse of minors by clergy and religious in the past decades, but an attack on the integrity of a sacrament cannot be tolerated either.

This is, I think, another wake up call, another indication of the underlying pain and hurt that afflicts many in today’s world. Those of us who are clergy need pay heed.

To those who would attack one of the sacraments, I would ask that you take the time to try to understand them and their purpose in Christian life.

The sacraments are the life-blood of the Church for it is in them that we encounter Jesus in a powerful manner.

The seal of the confessional has brought many a sinner back to God. Those who want to publicly demand its extinction will keep those who most need the sacrament from approaching it, in deed, from approaching the Lord.