Католик дінінде сыр сақтау: Құпиялық пен мойыншаның қадір-қасиеті

Confidentiality of Catholic confession

In the Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession (also known as the Seal of the Confessional or the Sacramental Seal) is the absolute duty of priests or anyone who happens to hear a confession not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents during the course of the Sacrament of Penance (confession). Even where the seal of confession does not strictly apply – where there is no specific serious sin confessed for the purpose of receiving absolution – priests have a serious obligation not to cause scandal by the way they speak. Notably, neither the Lateran canon nor the law of the Decretum purports to enact for the first time the secrecy of confession. The 15th century English canonist William Lyndwood speaks of two reasons why a priest is bound to keep secret a confession, the first being on account of the sacrament because it is almost (quasi) of the essence of the sacrament to keep secret the confession.

In Note on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal, the Apostolic Penitentiary explained that the sacramental seal is universally and permanently inviolable as a matter of de fide dogma, and as part of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, despite civil law.

According to Roman Catholic canon law, "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." The confessor is always an ordained priest, because in the Catholic Church only ordained priests can absolve sins; lay confession is not recognized. Any person who overhears a confession is likewise bound by the seal. One who breaks the seal "indirectly" (that is, through their words and actions make known a particular penitent's sins and somehow connects those sins to the penitent) would be punished according to the "gravity of the delict." It is permissible (though by no means necessary) for a priest to talk indirectly about some information he has or has not heard in confessions over the years as part of a homily or teaching lecture as long as he says or does nothing that would connect this information to any specific person. For example, he could choose to mention "I've heard the confession of a sex offender," or "I've almost never heard anyone explicitly confess a failure to help the poor." However, the Catholic Church punishes with excommunication latae sententiae anyone who records by any technical means or divulges what is said by the confessor or penitent. There are limited cases where portions of a confession may be revealed to others, but always with the penitent's permission and never by revealing the penitent's identity. This is the case, for example, with more serious offenses, as some excommunicable offenses are reserved to the Holy See and their permission to grant absolution must be obtained. In these cases, the priest hearing the confession asks the permission of the penitent to write a petition, using pseudonyms and containing the absolute minimum information necessary, to the bishop or to the Apostolic Penitentiary, the cardinal delegated by the Pope to handle such requests. This request may be forwarded, sealed, through the apostolic delegate or nuncio in a country (the Pope's ambassador), to be guarded by the privilege of a diplomatic pouch.

The law of different jurisdictions in general requires people under certain circumstances to testify about facts known to them. In many cases, the rule of evidence of confessional privilege forbids judicial inquiry into communications made under the seal of confession. There may be conflict between the obligation of confidentiality of confession and civil law. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that a priest may be compelled to testify about what he was told in the confessional regarding a particular sexual abuse case, leaving the priest at risk of excommunication if he even confirms that a confession took place, or jail for contempt of court should he refuse to testify. However, the Court later ruled that a priest has no duty to report confidential information heard during a sacramental confession.

John of Nepomuk, Mateo Correa Magallanes, Fernando Olmedo Reguera and Pedro Marieluz Garces are martyrs of the seal of the confessional in the Catholic Church, choosing to die rather than violate the seal.