Is My Confession Really a Secret? (The Seal of Confession Explained)

The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Ascension

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.9 • 7.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, Fr. Mike tells us about the story of the patron saint of confessors, St. John Nepomucene, who gave up his life because he refused to break something called the "seal of confession", which is a sacred duty of a priest to never reveal what is said in the confessional.

God himself established the priesthood as the mediators of reconciliation in the Gospel (John 2-:21-22). The Church takes this sacred responsibility so seriously, that any priest who breaks the seal of confession is automatically excommunicated.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, here we go, this go, this go now.
0:03.0	Here we go.
0:04.0	Okay, here we go.
0:05.0	Ha!
0:06.0	Ha!
0:07.0	Ha!
0:08.0	Ha!
0:09.0	Ha!
0:10.0	How many of you spot the mic?
0:11.0	And this is the sense of presence.
0:12.0	The sacrament of confession?
0:13.0	It's kind of a big deal for me.
0:15.0	Not only was it the place where I first encountered the Lord Jesus
0:18.0	in a powerful way that like changed my life,
0:20.0	literally gave my life in horizon,
0:23.0	set it into the decisive direction in the words of Pope Benedict.
0:26.0	That's just, I love, you know, as a priest.
0:28.0	You know, I always tell our students this.
0:29.0	I say that the best two questions a priest can ever hear are,
0:33.0	Father, how do I become Catholic?
0:34.0	And secondly, will you hear my confession?
0:37.0	And so it's just, it's incredible.
	...

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