Father Murphy's hands trembled as he poured scotch into a tumbler. He downed it like water and filled the tumbler again. Then he sat down to write. This is what he wrote:
My name is Father Richard Murphy. I am the associate pastor for St. Josaphat Catholic Parish, in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. I am currently 28 years old. I've been Catholic my whole life. I was taught my whole life that priests acted as stand-ins for Christ. I never knew how accurate that statement was until I was ordained to the priesthood myself. Jesus had to bear our sins on the cross, and I find myself bearing the sins of my parishoners at this very moment. Every time I take a confession, the burden grows. I have asked God to remove this burden, and I have prayed to St. John Vianney to petition God on my behalf to remove this burden. So far, I have had no answer, and I am at my breaking point.
I have heard things that you would not believe. Such terrible things. It has caused me to no longer see humanity as the blessed creation of God but some infernal clockwork machine, bent on destroying everything beautiful in God's creation. I have heard such evil that I could not imagine even hell being capable of... I can bear it no longer.
In the entire Roman Catholic Church, there is one sin that is seen as the most severe. You must be a priest to commit this sin, because it involves priestly duties. Breaking the Seal of the Confessional is punishable by automatic excommunication, and only the Holy Father himself can lift it. The lifting of such an excommunication involves a heavy pennance, usually involving removing the penitent's authority to ever hear confessions again, and an extended stay in a monastary. In this journal, I intend to break that seal. Hell, I don't intend to break it as much as obliterate it. The reasons why will become apparent enough as I go along.
I have heard such terrible stories in the confessional. Such terrible stories. I don't know where to begin...
The priest put the glass up to his lips, but it was empty. He refilled it from the bottle he had on his desk, and then started writing again.