I Confess (Extra Credit Assignment)

Christ bears the cross and the Priest was bearing the difficulty of keeping the seal of confession

           Only God can forgive sins and he does so through man, or a priest. Confession is a divine institution therefore it is God’s will that priests hear confessions and through priests God forgives sins. The priest remained faithful to his vow of not revealing anything from a confession because he understood the sacrament of Penance. The priest understood that he was just a body to fill the ears of God and receive the humiliation from the man who committed the murder. Had he revealed the information the confession would no longer be between the murderer and God.

            The end of the movie demonstrates that Hitchcock understood the sacrament of Penance and captured the difficulty of the seal of confession well. I read an article in which a Deacon studying to become a priest looks at the movie with admiration. He likes how Hitchcock is able to show that it is no easy task to bear the vows of a priest but it is possible to keep those vows. Hitchcock must have viewed God in an understanding light and understood his power and figure over priests, particularly the main character of the movie. Though it seems difficult, the priest never loses his truth and vow to God.

            While I was watching the movie I was really hoping that the priest would not break his seal. I would have been disappointed with Hitchcock if he had let the priest do so. Therefore, I would have ended the movie in a similar way in that respect. However, I would have liked there to be more concrete resolution. I would have liked either the wife to incriminate her husband or the husband to have confessed to the police himself. I wanted justice, not in a harsh way but just for closure purposes. However, the key part was that the priest never broke the seal of confession and was known by the audience to be not guilty.