Section — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology
Section 3. Concerning the Matter of the Seal.
The matter of the seal can be distinguished as essential and accidental; the essential is either direct or indirect.
411. Direct Matter. Directly, all sins, both mortal and venial, even public ones, constitute the matter of the seal, unless they are known to the confessor from another source.
a. Mortal sins are indeed manifested whether in species or only in general, e.g., Titius confessed grave sins; but venial sins, if they are manifested in species, not likewise if they are manifested only in general, unless it is said that someone confessed many or graver venial sins; for by the very fact that someone confessed, he is supposed to have confessed at least venial sins, and therefore this can be troublesome to no one. Therefore, just as it can be said without injury to the seal: Titius confessed, so it can be said: Titius confessed venial sins only, or confessed his venial sins. Therefore it is not against the seal if the confessor says of his penitent that he lives so innocently that he scarcely commits venial sins.
b. If it were licit to manifest publicly known sins, penitents would always fear lest confessors consider their sins publicly known and therefore reveal them. Therefore he who says of a notorious thief that he confessed his thefts with great contrition injures the seal; but he who says only that he confessed his sins does not injure the seal, because he does not say that he sinned mortally, nor does he manifest any venial sin in species.1
c. If the confessor speaks about those things which are known to him from elsewhere, he does not manifest the things heard in confession itself; yet he ought to take care lest from the things heard in confession he confirm things less certain or complete things less accurate.
1 Reuter, n. 378, 16.
412. Indirect Matter. Indirectly, all those things which are said for declaring sins constitute the matter of the seal, whether they are necessary for this end or only useful or even superfluous, unless they are publicly known facts, even if until now unknown to the confessor or to others; therefore circumstances of sins, objects, accomplices. For since Christ prescribed the seal so that confession not be rendered odious to the faithful, and since the revelation of these things would be unwelcome to the faithful, from the will of Christ all these things must be closed under the seal. Nevertheless, publicly known facts are excepted, even if previously unknown to the confessor, because their revelation can be burdensome to no one.
a. Circumstances are such things as occasions, end, and other circumstances connected with sins. Thus, if a spouse confesses that he boasted of nobility, the nobility is matter of the seal. Likewise imposed penances are under the seal, unless they are such as are customarily imposed only for the lightest faults, because from them it can be gathered that the penitent confessed a mortal sin or several venial sins.
Denied absolution is matter of the seal; therefore not only does he violate the seal who says that he denied absolution on account of indisposition, but also he who says only that he did not absolve such a person, because others rightly suspect indisposition from this. If the confessor is asked about denied absolution, let him answer: I have performed my office; or: there is nothing for me to answer to this question. Nor is it licit for the confessor to say that he did not give absolution, even if there is question of a public sinner, indeed even if the sinner himself says that absolution was denied to him, unless he says it in those circumstances in which by that very fact he grants permission for saying this.1
The counsel which is sought from the confessor pertains to the matter of the seal if the request has a connection with sacramental confession, as if someone seeks means by which he can correct a defect declared in confession.
b. Objects of sins, even declared after absolution, if, e.g., someone says that he despised his father because of his tenacity, or that he spoke about the adultery of Titius, the tenacity and adultery fall under the seal.
c. The sins of an accomplice, even if they were revealed without necessity, as if someone in confession says: I committed theft with my brother. Therefore it is not licit for the confessor to warn or correct the accomplice without the permission of the penitent. The penitent indeed can grant this permission, because the penitent alone, not also the accomplice, has the right to the seal; nevertheless it is rarely expedient for the confessor to assume the office of correcting the accomplice, even if he is asked by the penitent, because correction can rarely be made without danger of scandal.2
d. If someone confesses that he omitted Mass in order to see soldiers arriving, this fact does not fall under the seal.
1 Cf. Lacroix l. 6, pr. 2, n. 1965.
2 Cf. St. Alphonsus, n. 492.
413. Accidental Matter. Per accidens, all those things known in confession constitute the matter of the seal whose revelation would yield to the burden of the penitent and to hatred of the sacrament: defects either of body or of soul, and sins committed in the confession itself.
a. Natural defects are matter of the seal, not only when they are said for explaining a sin, but also if they are known from confession alone and are otherwise unknown. Thus scrupulosity is matter of the seal, both if it is manifested in confession as a moral defect or for declaring sins, and also if it becomes known to the confessor from the manner of confessing, while it is unknown to others. There are indeed those who say that natural defects otherwise unknown, if they are not manifested for explaining a sin, are matter only of natural secrecy; but assent seems to be given to the authors who count them as matter of the sacramental seal. And indeed if the confessor detects certain defects from the manner of confessing which the penitent otherwise can and is accustomed to conceal, confession would plainly be rendered odious if the confessor could reveal them. But defects which are already commonly known do not constitute matter of the seal, because the penitent cannot take it ill if the confessor speaks about them. From these things one can judge how far it falls under the seal that the penitent is hard of hearing, of slow or stubborn mind, of irresolute and troublesome nature, and such like.1
b. Sins committed in the confession itself, e.g., impatience and insults against the confessor himself, are not matter of the seal if they are not accused; but per accidens they usually fall under the seal, because someone could suspect that the confessor either did not wish to absolve the penitent or reprehended him more severely on account of graver faults. Theft committed by the penitent to the harm of the confessor at the time of confession does not fall under the seal; and if it were established that the thief approached confession only so that he might have an occasion of stealing, the sins accused by him would not be matter of the seal, because the confession would not be sacramental.
1 Cf. Tamburini, Methodus confessionis, Appendix de sigillo, c. 2, n. 13, 17 ss.
414. The Matter of the Seal Is Not those things heard in confession or connected with confession whose revelation does not yield to the burden of the penitent or to hatred of the sacrament; nevertheless, according to the nature of the matter, they can fall under natural secrecy.
a. The gifts of God and virtues per se are not matter of the seal, even if they are manifested in confession in order to declare the state of the soul to the confessor, because their revelation cannot render confession odious. Therefore confessors can and are accustomed to manifest the virtues and gifts of their penitents after their death for the effect of beatification. But virtues and gifts can be matter of natural secrecy if it is established that penitents would bear their manifestation with difficulty, and they fall under the seal if they are manifested to explain some sin, e.g., ingratitude toward God or inconstancy in good.
b. Absolution conferred is not matter of the seal; therefore he who says that he absolved such a person does not break the seal. Nevertheless, one must altogether abstain from this manifestation, especially in those circumstances in which this manifestation becomes burdensome to others, because the same cannot be said about them. If parents, teachers, and masters imprudently ask confessors about absolution given to sons, pupils, or subjects, they must be referred to the penitents themselves.
c. Access to confession is not matter of the seal, because it is known outside confession and is not per se something odious. Therefore he who says: Titius confessed to me, does not violate the seal; but if someone has approached confession secretly, the confessor is bound to conceal this by natural secrecy.
d. That whose knowledge the penitent does not bear with difficulty, such as condition or state, e.g., that the penitent is a priest, parish priest, soldier, married, unmarried, does not pertain to the object of the seal, because its revelation is not burdensome to the penitent, even if it was manifested to declare sins, since there is question of a publicly known state, even if until now unknown to the confessor, provided no suspicion of sin arises. But although the confessor can speak freely about this matter, it is always dangerous to say that he knows it from confession, because the faithful easily suffer scandal and fear lest confessors also speak about those things which penitents manifested in confession.
Note. Nevertheless, even concerning those things which do not properly fall under the seal, a prudent confessor, if he has received them in the confessional, will preserve silence, so that he may avoid scandals, which can scarcely be avoided from narrating those things which were said in the confessional.