Joseph Towle
Joseph Towle
absolution ask bless court exactly forgiveness gave public
I did bless him at the end of our conversation. I said to him, 'Do you want the forgiveness of God?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'You have to ask for it.' I gave him absolution and said, 'Now go to the court and tell them everything that you've told me.' And that is exactly what he did. He made a public declaration of everything he said to me,
accused advised boys conversation courage court decide heart publicly purpose reveal
So I advised him then that if he had the courage and the heart to do it that he should go to the court and should reveal in detail, just as he had done to me, ... His purpose in having this conversation with me was to decide what he could do publicly to exonerate these two boys who were accused in his place.
accused appear badly convicted desire fact feeling public talk truth
It was a heart-to-heart talk where he was feeling very badly that two of his friends had been accused and convicted of something which he had done, and it was his desire to do something to make the truth appear and he wanted to make public the fact that he was responsible and they were not,
confession consider explicitly fall help precise sacred seal seeking solution
There is nothing, first of all, nothing more sacred then the seal of confession, ... I did not consider this to fall under that precise seal of confession because he had not come to me explicitly seeking absolution, but to find a solution on how he could help his friends.
confession conveyed material point publicly seal
went publicly and conveyed this material to the lawyers. At this point the seal of confession is not in play.