Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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OFFICIAL SECRET
Confidential information entrusted to a person holding an official position in the Church or civil society, as in the medical, legal, or counseling professions. An official secret may not be communicated, without the permission of the one who confided the information, unless very grave necessity requires it. The seal of confession arising from the sacrament of penance is a special form of official secrecy. Confessional matters may never be divulged.
