----- Original Message ----- From: "Bradford DeLong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 11:23 AM Subject: Re: Catholics Could Lose Seal of Confession
> >Bradford DeLong wrote: > >>But when the Knights Templar were suppressed by Philip the Fair of > >>France and Pope Clement V in 1307, one of the charges was that the > >>Templars confessed only to each other and not to other priests--so > >>that nobody outside the order knew what horrible and foul things > > >were going on within the order. > > >confession is only seven centuries old? > > > No. Confession is older than that. But the idea that the seal of > confession could never be broken--that it could not be overridden by, > say, King Philip the Fair's desire to get his hands on the Templar > Treasury, or (supposing for the sake of argument that the charges > against the Templars were true) by the necessities of investigating > whether Templars were in fact guilty of kissing the anus of a cat, > worshipping the Egyptian cat-goddess Bast, secret Muslims, open > userers, secret Jews, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. > > The idea that the seal of confession could *never* be broken would > seem to be less than seven centuries old. If it was older than that, > why bother to accuse the Templars of the crime of refusing to confess > to priests outside their own order? > I dont claim to know better, nor to know better than you Brad. But by itself the logic seems to be a bit weak. That the Templars confessed only within their own circle would seem to be a bit incestuous. Add to that the old saw that one cannot have an organisation within an organisation and you can see why the .........ahem "authorities" might throw a ton of hyperbole atop a society such as the Templars. I suppose the .......ahem "authorities" would not be too happy about a prominent and somewhat powerful group, not under central control, who could go rogue unexpectedly. But I find it to be an interesting question either way. Anyone know where to find a concise history of the confessional? xponent Not Enough Information Maru rob ________________________________ You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
