Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the church can use your confessed sins as blackmail?

Question

your thoughts?

Answer 1

Absolutely! It has happened to me.

I'm not Catholic but I once confessed a particular struggle to a close friend who I thought would encourage me (as the Bible teaches to do). My confession was used against me at a later time in order for this person to gain the position I held at the church.

It has discouraged my from attending that particular church but not from God. To me, it's all about trust and confidence. The experience taught me a lot about both.

Brightest Blessings

Answer 2

That is perhaps the worst conspiracy theory I have heard against the Catholic Church.

First, the Church places any priest who breaks the seal of confession under automatic excommunication.

Second, the Church and its priests have the utmost respect for this holy sacrament.

Third, remember that Christ gave His Church the power to forgive sins. See Jn 20:22-23, 2 Cor 5:18-20, and 1 Jn 1:6-9.


Remember that God loves us, and it is with humility that we come to Him and beg for forgivness. Do not be afraid of confession, it is a most powerful and cleansing sacrament!

Answer 3

It is possible, after all the church is manned by humans who have weakness and are prone to sin. The confession should not be explicit, and there should be no details. U must confess the bare sin but give no hint as to when, where or who was involved.

Answer 4

Oh, Great One !

For your knowledge, the priest is ABSOLUTELY forbidden to reveal what he hears in confession.

When you confess your sins, you don't confess them to the priest, but to God Himself. He is the one who hears and forgives. The priest is only an instrument

There is a legend ( believe it or not, that's up to you ) that the king of France thought that the queen was unfaithful and asked her priest about it.
The priest said that he could not reveal what he heard in confession. The king, furious, made him be killed.
Now, according to the legend, when the remains of the priest were moved, it was seen that the body had corrupted, except the tongue, that remained intact

Answer 5

In the Catholic Church, priests are forbidden in the strongest manner possible (immediate excommunication) from discussing a confession, even with the penitent (unless given specific permission) outside the confessional. They may not, even upon pain of prison or death, violate this seal.

That said, I have seen "confessions" and information from counseling sessions parlayed into a weapon in Protestant congregations.

Answer 6

There is a concept under the law called priviledge. Attorneys have it with their clients, and vice versa and priests have it with their congregation and vice versa.
You cant use that priviledged information against a person in a court of law. However, the priest priviledge has been decreased a bit in recent years.

If a priest is going to use it as emotional blackmail, well then it shows more of the priests character to the rest of the church. Who is going to trust a priest that uses info against another person in the congregation. He will lose his following.

Answer 7

LOL, no worries. I only talk about my sins to God and very trusted people. I do not give in to blackmail.

Answer 8

In principle that is possible. But that is something I do not have to worry about because I confess my sins daily, and directly to the Christian God.

I do not need any mediators between me and God (based on what Jesus did for me on the cross). Having said that, I do not object to the Catholic rite of confession (I am not Catholic, but recognize that many Catholics are believing Christians).

Cordially,
John
http://www.GodSci.org

Answer 9

No, because I don't confess my sins to the church, I confess them to God.

Answer 10

If any individual from church came to me and asked me to confess my sins to him, I'd tell him to mind his own business.