Confidentiality

My daughter recently asked me a question- not about confession- but about talking to a priest. She knows what is said in the confessional is held in confidence, but is it the same for a conversation outside the confessional with a priest? I I told her I thought it would be, but it got me thinking. What if a teen came to a priest to talk about their drug or alcohol use, and it was obvious they needed some kind of help but were unwilling to go to their parents? Would a priest approach a parent to say they need to get help for their child, or would that be considered a breach?

According to Canon Law 983 and 984 what is said in confession is more then simply held in confidence. A priest who violates the seal, even indirectly, is subject to penalties up to and including dismissal from the clerical state and excommunication.

A conversation outside the confessional isn't held to the same degree of confidence, but most priests hold those communications to an extremely high standard of confidentiality and will not reveal those discussions and communications to anyone or betray that confidence unless they are required by law to do so. If say, a child were to come to them outside confession and tell them they are being abused in some way, they are required to report that information just as a teacher would. In the specific situation you are talking about, if it is a child, I think the safety of the child would be paramount but that must be balanced with retaining the child's trust. A priest, I believe, would have to first gain the permission of the child/person to approach another person regarding the information that was disclosed to them. Additionally they should encourage the child to go to their parents as well as finding the child/person the help they need. No priest should violate the trust and confidence someone bestows upon them, to do so is unconscionable.