Note 767 — Chapter III · THE DUTIES OF THE CONFESSOR AFTER THE CONFESSION

Cf. S. Alph. Lib. VI. n. 619. Lehmkuhl proposes the following case: If I had invalidly absolved any one—especially from grave sins—and met him shortly afterwards, I should be bound to absolve him without, however, intimating it, if I could presume that he had not committed any other grave sin in the meantime. Whether I should be bound to seek this person, cum gravi meo incommodo, would depend both upon the risk to the penitent’s salvation, and also upon the error of which I had been guilty; I should also be obliged to avoid endangering the seal of the confessional. If some time had elapsed since the confession, I could not give the absolution till I had exhorted the penitent to dispose himself by a new act of contrition. To give such an exhortation or to make an avowal to the penitent of the error made in the confession, would not of itself be a breach of the seal; for every penitent, whether he has confessed mortal or venial sins, is entitled to absolution. But if, on account of circumstances, it might be considered a disclosing of a grave sin heard in the confessional, the confessor would be obliged previously to ask the penitent’s permission to speak to him concerning matters of the confessional; in so doing, he should explain that something very salutary and profitable to the penitent was in question. Lehmkuhl, l. c. n. 471; Ballerini, l. c. n. 840.