Question Third: Concerning the Duties After the Act of Confession

After the act of confession there are three offices or obligations of the minister; a) of themselves:

1. of preserving the sacramental seal;

2. of not using, with burden to the penitent, the knowledge received in confession;¹

¹ The seal or secret to be preserved is one thing; the obligation of not using knowledge acquired in confession, even without lesion of the secret, is another. This latter is rather inaccurately called by some the accidental seal; indeed many treat of each together promiscuously and without distinction. Nevertheless they must be distinguished: namely, the seal obliges much more strictly than the other; besides, the obligation of the seal is special, concerning which St. Thomas expressly treats; the other obligation is general, of not causing burden, which comes to be declared according to common principles, concerning which nothing special occurs in St. Thomas.

b) accidentally:

3. of supplying defects and correcting errors.