The Perceived Disconnect between Priests and Laity: Part II

My friend brought up the concern about the seal of Confession, and if it would be broken if a priest preached on what he heard in the Sacrament of Confession?

I answered:

You make an excellent point. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit works, though. What I mean, for example - what I had received in prayer to preach on at Mass on different weekends, before going in to hear confessions, was exactly what had come up in people's confessions. I had to tell people in confession that it was actually something I was going to treat in the homily (mostly to let them know and assure them I was not going to be talking specifically about them - so they know I am not breaking the seal... what they have come to confess just happens to be, by the Holy Spirit, what is in the readings that Sunday, and what has drawn my attention in prayer to preach about...). So, what I am getting at, is that when a priest preaches he is not breaking the seal of confession, since he is not identifying a particular someone and their sin they had confessed. He is still compelled to preach, and at times bring people to conviction... I guess you could say - if the priest had to leave out of his homilies what is confessed in the sacrament, he would never speak from the pulpit... at the same time he is not allowed to reveal what he heard from any specific person what was confessed... does that make sense? If people think the priest is talking about them in his homily, it is more likely that he is not talking about them (and so revealing what was confessed) but rather the Holy Spirit convicting them, and teaching them further in a pastoral way of what to do about it (something often not covered within the sacrament of Confession due to time limit), and a message of hope - that Christ conquers.

Does that make sense? basically: A priest does not break the seal when he preaches about sin - specifically because he is not revealing anyone's particular confession. He must preach about sin, and redemption - he just doesn't use examples from the confessional, but rather the Gospel... which is applied to our lives. Guaranteed, if a priest is preaching about what he is supposed to be preaching about, it will at the same time, normally by chance, be something that someone has confessed.

My friend then asked:

Thanks so much for clarifying. So, as long as a priest doesn't say something to the effect of - "by what I'm hearing in the confessional, I think we need to discuss X . . . " But could certain trends of sins (say he is hearing a lot about road rage), could he then think to himself - wow, a lot of people are affected by road rage; maybe I should preach about this in my next homily. Or would that be too close to breaking the seal, and it would be better for the priest to use an example from the Gospel in order to preach against unrighteous anger, etc.?

I said:

Yes - I think you have the idea. That would be the prudent way to go about it. It is like a step removed, but still helping people - and maybe more broadly than just road rage. For another thing - I may not preach specifically on masturbation, but sexual purity (the positive spin)... On the other hand, I may preach on pornography (keeping in mind there are children in the pews) because it is even from outside of Confession that I know people, and mainly men, have a serious problem with it - even an addiction... or I may save that for a men's retreat or something... but be able to give practical advise about getting away from it. So, a priest can preach on things without breaking the seal, because it is even from knowledge outside the confessional that he would speak on.

All things considered, though, the Seal of Confession is among the most sacred things we practice. To realize how sacred it is, if a priest breaks the Seal of Confession is is immediately, and automatically excommunicated, and can no longer function as a priest until he is forgiven by the Pope, who is the only means of recourse for him at that point. If he is forgiven, usually then he is not allowed to function publicly, and will spend the rest of his life as a priest in a monastery to do penance and make reparation, as well as intercede for the world. So, we need to be very careful, as you can see.