Seal of Confessional goes on trial. Father Timothy Mockaitis of Oregon US filed an unprecedented lawsuit, first ever in the Catholic Church History, after a sacramental confession by an inmate with him was recorded. When an inmate had his confession on April 22, 1996, Fr. Mockaitis had no idea that it was being recorded. It is stated in Canon Law 983 §1 that “The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.”. This portion of the Canon law means that Confessors (Priests) are forbidden to disclose to others anything that was said during the confession, even if the life of the priest depended on it. Failure to do so on the part of the Priest is an automatic invitation to latae sententiae or excommunication. In this case, the Priest did not violate the seal of confession but the culprit who recorded the sacrament. This is unprecedented case and is of great interest since we can very well see the clash between the Church’s Canon law and the US civil law. The violation of the Sacramental Seal of Confession also constitutes a violation against the first and fourth amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America which concerns the religious freedom, civil rights violations against privacy and protections against illegal search and seizure. Fr. Timothy further stated:

This was an offense against not only the Church, but against the penitent himself. But we also raised moral and ethical objections that this particular and deliberate intrusion by the state was one incident that could never be justified for a greater good. The integrity of both the Constitution and an unmistakable explanation of Canon Law, and the centuries-old tradition of the Church about the absolute secrecy of the seal in the sacrament of reconciliation, were all presented in this case.

It was the first time an attempt was made in court to define a violation of the seal of confession as a First Amendment violation. The state consistently claimed the tape as among the body of evidence in its investigation.

A priest comes to the confessional in a parish church, a jail cell or a hospital bedside not as a judge and jury, but as a pastor of souls. The actions of the state, and the response of the Archdiocese of Portland, set up a never-before-test of the American Constitution. I felt state authorities had backed themselves into an untenable legal corner.

Details of this very interesting story is penned on the book called “The Seal: A Priest’s Story”

IN OTHER NEWS…

Pope Benedict isn’t undoing Vatican II. Media rumor’s have circulated that Pope Benedict XVI is gradually undoing the Vatican II reforms. This false rumor was denied by Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and asked the media to review the track record of the Pope when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger wherein he was a genuine protagonist of the Vatican Council II and that no such documents that would reverse the Vatican II reforms ever and will ever exist. I think the Pope is doing the right thing in reinstating the use of the Latin Rite of Mass but Vatican officials should be clear because some opportunistic groups out there who are so engrossed with the idea of destroying Vatican II is getting a wrong signal…

Benedict XVI was right about AIDS according to Harvard Scientist. After being criticized a last March 2009 in Cameroon, Africa, Pope Benedict XVI was vindicated in his earlier and controversial stance against AIDS prevention when he visited the African country. We can remember that Pope Benedict said in a press conference that its not the condom that can save the people of Africa from getting aids but a change in acceptable behavior. This statement of the Pope scandalized the media and made a big deal out of it. But recently, a Harvard scientist who is an expert in AIDS prevention has concurred the closeness between the Pope’s statement and recent scientific discoveries. Scientist Edward Green affirmed that using condom only gives false assurance to patients that they are safe where in fact they aren’t. Responsible Sex Behavior is more apt than putting the faith on Condoms.