The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-03-03
cure as if buried in mid-ocean.

cure as If buried in mid-ocean,
The obligation to secrecy of the
Catholic confessor has been we'll set
forth in the present controversy by the
Rev. Sidney Smythe. He says:
Priests of the Catholic Church can
not, with clear conscience, break the
seal Of the confessional. whether in the
witness box or elsewhere, and whether
they be asked to tell what they have
learnt in the confessional itself, or
what they have learnt previously or
subsequently,. but with a view to it or
as consequence of it. in short. it Is
the confessor's duty to5keep himself
altogether on the safe side. and divulge
nothing which could by any chance en-
able q clever questioner. to infer what
had been said in the confessional. This
is his duty. and it is our consolation to
know that it would be Indeed difficult
to discover instances where Il Catholic
priest had failed in his. duty. OF the
cases cited in the variois law reports.
in two only-the two already referred
to, namely, the DunboySe case and r.
V. Hay-was Catholic priest put to
the test, and in both they respectfully
and without any clustering refused to
speak, and submitted to an imprison-
ment for contempt. In both. it is pleas
ant to acknowledge, a pretext for re-
leasing them was quickly discovered,
and it may be that they foresaw that
it would be so.
"Still. if the penalty had been that
of lifelong Imprisonment or death,
they would have been bound in con-
science to face it, and. we may con-
fidently trust, would have done SO.
Such cases are on record, and, though
I forget where to find; it, there was
one during the last century of a Polish
priest whose housckeepcr was found
murdered. The murderer to draw off
the scent from himself, had gone at
once to the priest, and in a bad con-
fession told him of his crime. on his
departure leaving behind him traces
which would direct suspicion against
the priest. The latter was accordingly
convicted and sent into exile in Siberia,
whence he only returned many years
later, the murderer OH his dcathbed
having publicly acknowledged his own
guilt.
THE Catholic priesthood will have
the respect. if not the sympathy, of
most Englishmen for it's fidelity to this
conception of duty. But are there not,
it will be asked, exceptional cases in
which he must feel that he really ought
to betray the secrets of the penitent
culprit? Ought he not when by SO do
ing he could save an innocent person
from an unjust conviction and punish
ment? No, not even then. The secrets
of the confessional, according to the
doctrine of the Catholic Church, is en-
joined by divine law from which
neither Judge. nor King, nor Pope has
power to dispense; and hence for Il
confessor to dispense himself from it's
observance, even to save the innocent,
would be to do evil that good might
come. Nor, If it We're known that sucl,
exertions could be made. would the
guilty be likely to confess their crimes,
and SO no advantage would accrue to
the innocent from the priests liberty
to aid them in this manner. On the
other hand, the present absolute in
volatility of the seal does tend to af-
ford substantial protection to the inno-
cent. The culprit, whose only induce
ment to confess to his priest is that he
may obtain the divine pardon for Il sin
of which he has rcpented, may have
arranged things purposely so as to cast
suspicion on the innocent. In that case
the confessor's duty is to tell him that
he has no chance to divine pardon UNI
less he will effectually undo this in
Justice to another"
There have been martyrs to the seal
of the confessional. But the days have
happily gone by when priests in civil
ized communities are required to speak
Of things confided in the secrecy Of the
confessional. The social value of this
tribunal is greater than most men are
able to realize. There is no more po-
tent factor making for the morals up
lifting OF the race than this same trib-
unal. Every blow aimed at 1t is a
blow aimed at society itself.