Folia Canonica 10. (2007)
STUDIES - Péter Artner: The Canonical Protection of the Dignity of the Sacrament of Penance in the Penal Law
94 PÉTER ARTNER this sin, the others were absolved, and this sin will be forgiven indirectly by the Sacrament in as much as the penitent receives sanctifying grace.23 Another opinion says that since the absolution is indivisible, and it is invalid in the case of this sin, it will be invalid in the case of the rest of the sins.24 Although we may say, that if the penitent had a real repentance that is indispensably necessary (conditio sine qua non) for the reconciliation, if both the priest and the penitent were in good faith, the absolution is valid because the sanctifying grace arising from the virtue of the Sacrament of Penance. Another case is to be mentioned, the “Epikeia”, that is an indulgent and benign interpretation of law, which regards a law as not applying in a particular case because of circumstances unforeseen by the lawmaker. In such a situation the absolution of the accomplice would be valid and licit apart from the danger of death. It has to be very extraordinary circumstances, e.g. where no other priests would ever be available, and there is no possibility for the penitent to confess the sin to another priest, for example, in a mission country etc.25 If the person, who attempts the absolution is not a priest, or a priest but without faculty will receive another kind of punishment, the punishment for giving absolution without faculty or simulation of the absolution. It was a question that this prohibition concerns only priests or bishops, too. Since the Code uses the word “sacerdos” and in the Code “sacerdos” means priests and bishops, contrary to “presbyter” what means only priest, this prohibition is effective for both priests and bishops. The penalty for this offence is a latae sententiae excommunication, reserved to the Holy See. III. The Sacramental Seal As the penitent is obliged to confess in kind and in number all grave sins, to this opening of his/her heart on the other side (on side of the Church, the Sacrament and the confessor) has to be a maximal discretion. The origin of this secret comes from the nature of the Sacrament, according to natural, divine and positive ecclesiastical law. The sacramental seal has two aims26: to protect the good of the penitent {bonum poenitentis): it is secured, that whatever he/she told in the confession 23 Woestman, Sacraments, 269 24 F. Loza, in Exegetical Commentary, Vol III/1, 799 25Morrisey, 36 26 R. T. Moriarty, Violation of the Confessional Seal and the Associated Penalties, in The Jurist, 58 (1998), 154-155
