Breach of professional secret by catholic priests: (im)possibility of violation of sacramental secrecy

• Main Authors: Samyle Regina Matos Oliveira, Thyerrí José Cruz, Luiz Fernando Kazmierczak
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Instituto Brasileiro de Direito Processual Penal 2020-06-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Direito Processual Penal
• Subjects: confissão católica; ilicitude; intimidade; violação.
• Online Access: http://www.ibraspp.com.br/revista/index.php/RBDPP/article/view/286

Sacramental secrecy raises major discussions about the violation of professional secrecy, a conduct typified by art. 154 of the Brazilian Penal Code, due to the absolute character of its inviolability, for catholic doctrine, and the hypothesis of justification, exceptions elaborated by the Brazilian criminal doctrine. The main purpose of this article is to analyze the inviolability of sacramental secrecy, and whether this nature persists, even with the incidence of an exclusion of illegality or consent from the penitent. The methodology undertaken, based on a bibliographic survey that considered both catholic and legal norms, as well as the Brazilian criminal doctrine, allowed to identify that the duty to protect professional secrecy is absolute, in the case of confessors priests, regardless of the content of the confession given by the penitent or their consent to the reveal, as they owe obedience to lay and canon law, which, in their provisions, establish normative guarantees both to the free exercise of religious ministry, and to the freedom and intimacy of the confidant in the act of exposing their sins exempt from any punishment for information given via confession.