I wonder how a historian could answer this question. Even if it was true, someone would have to be stupid enough to write it down explicitly. On the other hand, most people were illiterate, so maybe writing itself was effectively a secret code for clergy. But even then… the priests doing this would not necessarily have to realize this; they could do it primarily to absolve the sins, and only use the blackmail as an afterthought. Also, the mere possibility of blackmail is already a power.
As an argument against this, there is the concept of a “confessional secret” that is taken very seriously by Catholics. Revealing the secret would cost the priest his job at the very least; often it would also be punished by prison, historically sometimes by death. There are officially no exceptions: no matter the crime, not even if the Pope commanded you to reveal the secret. It is even considered a sin if the priest thinks too much about the contents of the confession afterwards. -- That said, I do know whether these rules were there from the very beginning, or maybe only started a few centuries later.
I realize that this is not the purpose of confession today, or even during the middle ages. Since 1000 AD its been very earnest. I just suspect it has sinister origins.
I wonder how a historian could answer this question. Even if it was true, someone would have to be stupid enough to write it down explicitly. On the other hand, most people were illiterate, so maybe writing itself was effectively a secret code for clergy. But even then… the priests doing this would not necessarily have to realize this; they could do it primarily to absolve the sins, and only use the blackmail as an afterthought. Also, the mere possibility of blackmail is already a power.
As an argument against this, there is the concept of a “confessional secret” that is taken very seriously by Catholics. Revealing the secret would cost the priest his job at the very least; often it would also be punished by prison, historically sometimes by death. There are officially no exceptions: no matter the crime, not even if the Pope commanded you to reveal the secret. It is even considered a sin if the priest thinks too much about the contents of the confession afterwards. -- That said, I do know whether these rules were there from the very beginning, or maybe only started a few centuries later.
I realize that this is not the purpose of confession today, or even during the middle ages. Since 1000 AD its been very earnest. I just suspect it has sinister origins.