Perhaps Father William Saunders assisted the SWG with the script of The Rosary Murders, because his article sounds just like the debate between Koesler and Kileen in the film. I quote:
The sacramental seal is inviolable. Quoting Canon 983.1 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism states, "...It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason" (No. 2490). A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity. He cannot be compelled by law to disclose a person's confession or be bound by any oath he takes, e.g. as a witness in a court trial. A priest cannot reveal the contents of a confession either directly, by repeating the substance of what has been said, or indirectly, by some sign, suggestion, or action. A Decree from the Holy Office (Nov. 18, 1682) mandated that confessors are forbidden, even where there would be no revelation direct or indirect, to make any use of the knowledge obtained in the confession that would "displease" the penitent or reveal his identity.
Roman Catholicism, throughout its history, seems to brace itself, and fails, as a bulwark against the failings of the human animal. What I miss about the Church is not its corporate and legal structure that enforces the foundation of faith, not its placement of Yahweh and the Christ, Mary, Apostles, saints, and a coup d'etat by Polish Communist Superstars. What I miss about it is the comfort of certainty, and my rebellion against it did not begin with Jerry as my new source of succor. I butt heads with Father Kelly when I was sixteen over some fine point about Scripture, when he was hearing my confession in the rectory.
"We're not going to discuss that," he said. So much for docility.
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