O Pontifical Secret in Crimes against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue

Abstract

Pope Francis has enacted the Instruction on the Confidentiality of Causes and has abolished the pontifical secret about the denunciations, processes and decisions related to cases of sexual violence and abuse of minors committed by clerics and conse-crated persons, allowing the sharing of information collected in canonical procedures with state judicial authorities. The Pontifical secret is similar to professional secrecy, constituting an obligation proper to individual ecclesiastical offices, with the aim of protecting people's privacy, maintaining the autonomy of the Church, the functioning of institutions and the common good. Sacramental secrecy is linked to the Sacrament of Penance and obliges confessors, being considered inviolable, since it has been originat-ed in divine law. In this respect, the professional secrecy is protected by canon and Bra-zilian law, which considers its violation a crime.