Just
a quick question for you Fintan - when you were shipping off a certain
priest to Canada some time ago, on the basis of false info and your own
bullying ways about you - did the following come into your
considerations, and did you make the priest aware of his rights in this
regard?
(Quote)
One is perfectly free to participate voluntarily in a psychological assessment.
However, one also has the right not to participate if that is one's wish. One's right not to participate is grounded in the right to privacy as set out in Canon 220 : 'No one may unlawfully harm the good reputation which a person enjoys, or violate the right of every person to protect his or her privacy.'
Furthermore, Canon 630 sets out the right not to divulge matters of conscience.
1. While safeguarding the discipline of the institute, Superiors are to acknowledge the freedom due to the members concerning the sacrament of penance and the direction of conscience.
5. The members are to approach their Superiors with trust and be able to open their minds freely and spontaneously to them.
Superiors, however, are forbidden, in any way to induce the members to make a manifestation of conscience to themselves.
The prohbition contained in 5 was further strengthened by a decision of the Congregation for the Clergy of 8th October, 1998 which in turnreferred to an instruction of the Secretariat of State of 6th August, 1976.
The response of the Congregation for the Clergy to an hierarchialrecourse from a diocesan priest read thus :
It is the consistent teaching of the Magisterium that investigations of the intimate psychological and moral status of the interior life of any member of the Christian faithful cannot be carried out except with the consent of the one to undergo such evaluation, as it is clearly written about in the instruction of the Secretariat of State in their 6 August 1976 letter to pontificial representatives.
Therefore this Congregation concludes that Your Excellency cannot, in this case, under pain of obedience, oblige your priest (...) to undergo psychological evaluation. (unquote)
So Fintan, on what basis did you send that priest to Canada?
Was this priest advised of the above rights by you or by Albert?
Was the priest given this advice in written form?