His Grace Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney during his homily at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, conveyed that the priests will suffer punishment before betraying their sacred obligations of confession. His Excellency Archbishop also warned the priests to never break the Seal of Confession under any circumstances.
As reported by CNA, His Grace Archbishop Fisher remarked that “Confession is threatened today both by neglect and attack. But priests will, we know, suffer punishment, even martyrdom, rather than break the seal of Confession. For Confession is a privileged encounter between penitent and God; here the Christian enters the silence and secrecy of the Tomb, to be re-Eastered; and no earthly authority may enter there.”
In the Roman Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession (or Seal of the Confessional) is the absolute duty of priests 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.
Source: CNA
