my dad is a priest, the other day he told me that a man confessed to him about murdering two people and burying them in his basement.
my dad wants to go to the police but he cant as the confession is confidential he did not even wanna tell me and i am his son.
what should he do as now the man comes to see him everyday and he has told my dad that he is urging to kill again and he has allready spotted the next two women he wants to get. should he brake his law and go to the police please agree with me as that is what i am pleading with him to do.
2007-10-05 06:04:41 · 17 answers · asked by Count Dracula 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
There is a reasonable expectation of confidentiality attached to priest/penitent communications, and your father should not have even told you about the man's confessions of past crimes.
This right to confidentiality, however, stops when there is a threat or promise of continued or ensuing crime. Your father has an obligation to report this, and should feel no remorse or dereliction in doing so.
If he still feels reluctant to report this, I'm sure his superiors would advise him of the same. The problem lies not with what he should do now, but with what he has already done in revealing confidential information to you. Not only has he violated his client's right to confidentiality, he has placed you in a sticky situation by making you privy to information to which you have no right.
Short answer, however, your father should realize that he has an obligation to protect society which outweighs any expectation of privacy in this case.
2007-10-05 06:28:52 · answer #1 · answered by looneycop 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Breaking the oath of confidentiality in a confessional is an extremely big deal. He might not feel able to continue being a priest if he did that.
Is there some way he could invite a policeman to "pop by" at the time the guy usually turns up, without saying why? A good cop should spot his body language and reach their own conclusion...
2007-10-05 13:13:40 · answer #2 · answered by Ali T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Uuum, if he is a Priest who takes confession, isn't that ONLY a Catholic thing? And if so, how does a Catholic Priest have a child? And if all this were somehow real, why would he go tell you, INCLUDING who this person allegedly is? And tell you that he has urges to kill again?
Somehow I think this is a crock and you just want attention. Give the keyboard back to mommy and stop playing on the internet.
2007-10-05 14:21:27 · answer #3 · answered by Rottluver 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not going to 'have a go' at your Fathers religion. I'm not religious at all but I have a respect for other people’s beliefs.
What I will say though is that I feel your Father has to ask himself if his belief and respect for the confidentiality of the confessional is stronger than that of the preservation of life?
The preservation of life should come before all else and I'm sure he'd want someone to break the confidentiality of the confessional if it was one of his family members that were the victim.
2007-10-05 15:49:58 · answer #4 · answered by Ian UK 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Privledge is not attatched when the person speaks of doing harm to themselves or others. Doctors, lawyers and preists have an obligation to tell the police about a situation like this.
2007-10-05 13:44:58 · answer #5 · answered by Scott B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your dad has information about a crime that he is about to commit his oath of confidentiality no longer applies and he could be subject to charges of accessory before the fact if the guy kills someone. Even the Dr / Patent privilege goes out the door if the patient says he is about to commit a crime or harm themselves. The Dr. then MUST report it to the police.
You Father should know this.
Being a man of God should not cloud common sense.
2007-10-05 13:13:54 · answer #6 · answered by Dog Lover 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
What a stupid question. His duty to the confessor, a self-confessed murderer does not outweigh his duty to the potential innocent victims of another murder. He hands the man over to the police, no question about it.
Religious nuts who have misguided loyalties (to the guilty rather than to the innocent) make me sick.
2007-10-05 13:28:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ask him what more of an affront to God would be, maintaining silence in the face of evil, or fighting that evil. We're all faced with decisions in life where doing the right thing may not always feel like the right thing. What will cause his conscience more burdon? Preventing deaths, or standing idle, as they occur?
2007-10-05 13:13:03 · answer #8 · answered by trueblue3167 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Why not tell the Police? He already told you! And YES, he should report it.
2007-10-05 14:33:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your father is a priest and your screen name is Count Dracula?
2007-10-05 14:58:14 · answer #10 · answered by Right Wing. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋