Petal Alderin
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Priests, confession, and moral obligations
Anything apparently told to a priest in the confessional, no matter how bad, is supposedly to be kept secret and never revealed.
Last night we saw a movie on TV (sorry I can't recall the name of it because I only remember movies I enjoy ... we sat through this one criticizing I'm afraid, just to see how it ended) in which a priest kept a confessed secret for over forty years, during which period several other people died and were murdered purely because he refused to open his mouth and spill the beans.
I know it was only a movie but it got me wondering whether it's morally right to keep those confessions a secret, particularly when other people's lives can be drastically affected by silence. I wonder how many priests are walking around today, knowing things they ought to reveal to authorities ...
And the one who has confessed goes off to sleep well every night, thinking that now he has confessed and been forgiven, he no longer needs to carry a burden around with him and can go and do the same thing again, and again, and again ... but how well does the priest sleep at night?
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8/5/2009, 7:55 am
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toxiczen
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
this one definitely comes down to ones perspective... obviously from the perspective of the priest it is gods will that he keep his mouth shut. although many people may die this was ultimately in gods plans...
and from a neutral perspective that's just wacky and the priest should save these other peoples lives if he is able to. i think legally the priest may be protected though as the law gets kinda fuzzy when it comes to church stuff, minors can consume alcohol, some churches are allowed to use peyote, tax exemptions, etc...
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"Love is the strongest force the world possesses, yet! it is the humblest imaginable."
~Gandhi
"it is easier to tell the truth: you don't have to remember anything"
~Mark Twain
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8/5/2009, 2:03 pm
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Petal Alderin
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
Very true ... a similar dilemma is when there's a crisis at a birth, and the question is whether to save the mother or the child, if it's only possible to save one ...
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8/5/2009, 3:14 pm
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toxiczen
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
i would think the most obvious is to ask the mother what she wants to do... assuming she is conscious!
if she is unconscious than it gets tougher...
---
"Love is the strongest force the world possesses, yet! it is the humblest imaginable."
~Gandhi
"it is easier to tell the truth: you don't have to remember anything"
~Mark Twain
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8/5/2009, 4:27 pm
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Petal Alderin
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
It would be terrible to be in that situation ... most mothers I think would give up their lives for their children, if they had to make the decision. But then again, I could be wrong ... it would depend on the general situation probably for some. And if the husband/partner had to make the choice - who knows! More a decision for the doctor than anyone and then I would think he would save the one with the best chance of a full recovery and able to lead a normal life, whatever normal is.
A bit like Sophie's Choice, too. I cried right through that movie - it really tore at me.
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8/6/2009, 7:34 am
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rumplestilskin4
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
Human beings have to make these life or death choices on a daily basis. Not the same person of course, but many different people. Once in awhile both can survive that terrible choice but both might be injured serious for life.
Lu Ann and I came upon a burning building one day. There was a man who I happen to know well standing on the roof of the porch. But there was also another man in a wheelchair inside where the fire actually started. His wife was outside beside herself with fear. She told us where her mate was. I looked but I did not see him. I think Lu ann did see him. There was no chance for an unprotected person to enter to pull him out. Fire company had not arrived yet. heavy black smoke was swirling around the man on the roof. I told him to jump. But he was afraid. I looked for a ladder but none was availible.
I went back and told him to jump and I would catch him! He did and I was able to throw my arms around him just as he reached my level. We dropped to my knees. and stood up again. His feet and ankles were bad. But he was fine and so was I.
The man inside was not! It was said that he may have had a seizure just as he was adding wood to his fire.
The man on the roof just happened to be the person that my Exwife took up with after she left me. 
And he had left her only a few weeks earlier before the fire.
Strange situation to say the least!
Bummy74
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8/6/2009, 6:56 pm
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Morwen Oronor
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
Petal Alderin said:
Very true ... a similar dilemma is when there's a crisis at a birth, and the question is whether to save the mother or the child, if it's only possible to save one ...
If I was a doctor in this situation, my decision would be to save the mother. Very simply, there can always be another child and the rest of the kids in the family don't have to deal with the loss of their mother and the father doesn't have to deal with the burden of a possibly sick child and the rest of the family.
It's religion that makes the life of a foetus so important.
The same thing goes about an obviously problem foetus before it's born. When parents make the martyr-type decision to have a child knowing that it has a short life expectancy or that it is going to require years of sacrifice and care, are they being altruistic, or are they being selfish?
Just think about having a severely retarded child in your family, as a child.
I've seen this, with teenagers resenting the one who takes all the attention in the family and who gets dragged out to embarrass them while their parents ignore the ones who are able to make it on their own and then when the parents die, the siblings are left behind to care for someone they didn't ask for.
And yes, from a religious point of view, this sounds horribly callous and yes, millions of families deal with retarded and damaged children with fortitude.
My feeling is that if you have a choice, why would you make the choice to have a child that is going to be a burden?
Would you adopt a child like that? If you would then you are a better person than most other people are.
Our child-care facilities (we're not allowed to call them orphanages anymore) are filled to the brim with children that simply can't be adopted because their families have simply abandoned them and adoptive parents don't want them.
So if the choice is to willingly take on a severely damaged child or a perfectly healthy one, and religion and piety and philanthropy and altruism were not behind your decision, would you?
I wouldn't but then I openly admit the truth that most people won't admit, that I'm selfish and I wouldn't want to burden my family with someone they didn't ask for.
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The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.William Spencer Churchill
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8/6/2009, 10:56 pm
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rumplestilskin4
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Re: Priests, confession, and moral obligations
When my diabetic stepdaughter had a major brain hemmorage at age 31, we were all told that she might survive with life support. Her sister called me for my thought on it. "Take it off! She would not want to live that way!"
It was a unanimous decision! As much as we all loved her and she loved life, I would never condemn her to live a minute longer, then she was able to on her own, by being connected to a bunch of wires and tubes!
Bummy74
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8/7/2009, 6:52 am
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