A former Catholic priest who has become a YouTuber has explained the protocol for handling a confession of murder.
Father David Michael Moses has amassed over 400,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he shares his journey from college student to priesthood.
At the age of 14, Moses began his college education, completing his bachelor’s degree by 18. Although he was accepted into multiple law schools, he chose to pursue religious studies at the seminary for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, finishing at 25 in 2019.
Currently, Moses serves as the parochial vicar at Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring, Texas, while maintaining his YouTube presence where he discusses his religious beliefs.
In a February video, Moses addressed what occurs if a murder is confessed to him.
The seal of confession is inviolable, meaning a priest cannot disclose anything shared during confession. However, there are situations where a priest can disclose information if it was not shared in confession.
Moses stated: “The seal of confession means that if you come to confession, the priest can’t repeat what you said. The priest can’t go around saying, ‘Hey, did you hear so and so did this?’
“If you come to meet me in my office, not confession, we’re just talking, then that’s what we call privileged information. I’m not bound to strict secrecy, but if I went around saying, ‘Sally told me that her husband has a real gambling problem’, that would be inappropriate.”
Moses provided an example where if someone admitted to ‘poisoning all the water in the city’ in a casual conversation, he could alert authorities, as it poses a threat to others.
However, if such a crime is confessed under the seal of confession, it remains confidential, as “sins are sealed in secrecy,” according to Moses.
He added: “No matter what sins are said in confession, the priest cannot say or do anything about it. He can’t even treat the person different afterwards.
“If a priest directly breaks the seal, then that priest is automatically excommunicated, or kicked out of the Church.”
Though priests are unable to report the crime to authorities, they can offer guidance and encourage the individual to come forward.
In essence, if a murder is confessed in the confessional, priests are bound to keep it confidential.