Act of Contrition without a priest - invalid?

[Nan_S]

This question came out of our RCIA group, posed by a man raised Baptist:

Can a person who is in imminent danger of death, with no priest available, make an Act of Contrition confessing serious/mortal sin directly to God and be absolved? And if he does make that Act of Contrition but survives, does he then have to seek out a priest for sacramental confession? If so, why seek out the priest - did the confession and absolution not “stick”?

Scenario: A man is trapped in a building when an earthquake collapses it. Two days before he had committed adultery, regretted it, and intended to go to confession at the regularly scheduled time for confessions. But now he’s been pinned under tons of concrete for 36 hours and hope for rescue is fading rapidly. He prays and confesses to God, making a sincere Act of Contrition, hoping to receive forgiveness. (Under common Protestant theology, this sincere prayer of repentance is sufficient.)

One of two apparently contradictory outcomes come out of this scenario:

1. The man dies. Is he forgiven? Was the sincere Act of Contrition sufficient?
2. The man is still alive and 24 more hours pass. Suddenly a search-and-rescue dog picks up his scent. Several frantic hours later the rescuers finally extract him, and he survives. Does he now have to go to Sacramental Confession? If so, does that mean the sincere Act of Contrition he made while trapped was pointless?

 

[dandn5000]

I’m not certain, and it’s totally possible I’m wrong, but I would think that this particular case would fall under the same umbrella as a baptism of desire would - if you really have no way to receive it and you really and truly desire the sacrament and wish to confess, than that is sufficient.

If he were to survive, I would say he would need to get to Confession anyway, because he would then have the opportunity to go.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Hi NanS,

Can a person who is in imminent danger of death, with no priest available, make an Act of Contrition confessing serious/mortal sin directly to God and be absolved?

Yes. And one need not be in imminent danger of death, nor be in a situation where a priest is not available. As a side note, strictly speaking one is not confessing (God knows your sins already) and one is not receiving absolution, but rather extra-sacramental forgiveness.

And if he does make that Act of Contrition but survives, does he then have to seek out a priest for sacramental confession?

Yes.

If so, why seek out the priest - did the confession and absolution not “stick”?

Again, note there was no confession and absolution. But, yes the forgiveness and reconciliation with God was true (assuming perfect contrition), and cannot ever be revoked for those sins.

As to why the need to seek out a priest — because a)Christ established sacramental confession as the normative means of obtaining forgivness, b)as a Catholic one is bound to do so, and c) all grave sins must be submitted to the “power of the keys”.

Perfect contrition does not forgive sins apart from sacramental confession. Because perfect contrition is love of God, it also means obedience to Him, and such obedience is manifested by a desire to confess one’s sins as He requires. It is impossible for a Catholic to have perfect contrition without the intention and desire to confess one’s sins in the sacrament, if he knows of the obligation to do so.

1. The man dies. Is he forgiven? Was the sincere Act of Contrition sufficient?

If it manifested perfect contrition, yes, and assuming he had the desire for sacramental confession, either explicitly (as a Catholic) or implicitly (as a non-Catholic, who, if he knew of the obligation imposed by God, would fulfill it).

1. The man is still alive and 24 more hours pass. Suddenly a search-and-rescue dog picks up his scent. Several frantic hours later the rescuers finally extract him, and he survives. Does he now have to go to Sacramental Confession?

Yes, absolutely.

If so, does that mean the sincere Act of Contrition he made while trapped was pointless?

No, his perfect contrition obtained forgiveness for his sin of adultery. Not going to confession later would be a new sin.

VC

 

[thistle]

This question came out of our RCIA group, posed by a man raised Baptist:

Can a person who is in imminent danger of death, with no priest available, make an Act of Contrition confessing serious/mortal sin directly to God and be absolved? And if he does make that Act of Contrition but survives, does he then have to seek out a priest for sacramental confession? If so, why seek out the priest - did the confession and absolution not “stick”?

Scenario: A man is trapped in a building when an earthquake collapses it. Two days before he had committed adultery, regretted it, and intended to go to confession at the regularly scheduled time for confessions. But now he’s been pinned under tons of concrete for 36 hours and hope for rescue is fading rapidly. He prays and confesses to God, making a sincere Act of Contrition, hoping to receive forgiveness. (Under common Protestant theology, this sincere prayer of repentance is sufficient.)

One of two apparently contradictory outcomes come out of this scenario:

1. The man dies. Is he forgiven? Was the sincere Act of Contrition sufficient?
2. The man is still alive and 24 more hours pass. Suddenly a search-and-rescue dog picks up his scent. Several frantic hours later the rescuers finally extract him, and he survives. Does he now have to go to Sacramental Confession? If so, does that mean the sincere Act of Contrition he made while trapped was pointless?

There are two acts of contrition possible.

An act of imperfect contrition is one where you are repenting and asking for forgiveness because you fear going to Hell and not because you are sorry for offending God. This requires confessing to a priest.

An act of perfect contrition is where you repent and ask for forgiveness because you are really sorry for having offended God. Making an act of perfect contrition is conditional upon the intent to get to Confession as soon as possible thereafter but if the person dies before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven. Therefore if the person in your example lives they are required to go to Confession.

Making an act of contrition is never pointless!!

In my opinion, the hard part is knowing if you really have made an act of perfect contrition. It is not simply saying the words but it has to be really sincerely meant.

 

[Nan_S]

The man is arguing that if a sinner could be forgiven of a grevious sin by confessing directly to God in imminent danger of death, then he saw that deathbed-forgiveness as a viable alternative to Sacramental Confession. In his mind, once the person was forgiven the forgiveness would not be “retracted” if the dying person happened to survive.

Making an act of perfect contrition is conditional upon the intent to get to Confession as soon as possible thereafter but if the person dies before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven. Therefore if the person in your example lives they are required to go to Confession.

Do you have a reference for this? Another inquirer in our group read a statement much like this from her Catholicism for Dummies book, but I couldn’t find this anywhere in the Catechism or the Code of Canon Law.

If I could find this statement in context, it would help.

 

[elts1956]

There are two acts of contrition possible.

An act of imperfect contrition is one where you are repenting and asking for forgiveness because you fear going to Hell and not because you are sorry for offending God. This requires confessing to a priest.

An act of perfect contrition is where you repent and ask for forgiveness because you are really sorry for having offended God. Making an act of perfect contrition is conditional upon the intent to get to Confession as soon as possible thereafter but if the person dies before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven. Therefore if the person in your example lives they are required to go to Confession.

Making an act of contrition is never pointless!!

In my opinion, the hard part is knowing if you really have made an act of perfect contrition. It is not simply saying the words but it has to be really sincerely meant./

Thistle, this is the way I understand it also. But if one is in danger of imminent death, I suppose only God will know if the Act of Contrition was perfect, or not.??? This is why we in our imperfect knowledge cannot say with surety who will go to Heaven and who will not.

 

[elts1956]

There are two acts of contrition possible.

An act of imperfect contrition is one where you are repenting and asking for forgiveness because you fear going to Hell and not because you are sorry for offending God. This requires confessing to a priest.

An act of perfect contrition is where you repent and ask for forgiveness because you are really sorry for having offended God. Making an act of perfect contrition is conditional upon the intent to get to Confession as soon as possible thereafter but if the person dies before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven. Therefore if the person in your example lives they are required to go to Confession.

Making an act of contrition is never pointless!!

In my opinion, the hard part is knowing if you really have made an act of perfect contrition. It is not simply saying the words but it has to be really sincerely meant.

Thistle, this is the way I understand it also. But if one is in danger of imminent death, I suppose only God will know if the Act of Contrition was perfect, or not.??? This is why we in our imperfect knowledge cannot say with surety who will go to Heaven and who will not.

 

[Aramis]

This question came out of our RCIA group, posed by a man raised Baptist:

Can a person who is in imminent danger of death, with no priest available, make an Act of Contrition confessing serious/mortal sin directly to God and be absolved? And if he does make that Act of Contrition but survives, does he then have to seek out a priest for sacramental confession? If so, why seek out the priest - did the confession and absolution not “stick”?

The Act of Contrition does not guarantee anything. If you think you might die, it’s definitely worthwhile. It’s up to God at that point. But God said, in the person of Jesus, that the Apostles could hold bound matters on earth, and that they would be held bound in heaven. If you die, you’ll find out soon enough. If not, you’re still under the Authority Christ left to the apostles… and their successors hold it bound if you don’t seek prompt confession upon survival.

Confession to the priest which results in absolution does guarantee something: the forgiveness of the confessed sins and all venial sins.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

The man is arguing that if a sinner could be forgiven of a grevious sin by confessing directly to God in imminent danger of death,

NanS,

There is no “imminent danger of death” requirement for extra-sacramental forgiveness (i.e. being forgiven through an act of perfect contrition).*

then he saw that deathbed-forgiveness as a viable alternative to Sacramental Confession.

Nope. There is no alternative to sacramental confession, because it is 1) normative and 2) a requirement of Catholics. Even extra-sacramental forgiveness is related to the Sacrament of Confession (as seen below).

In his mind, once the person was forgiven the forgiveness would not be “retracted” if the dying person happened to survive.

That is totally true. *IF *the person was forgiven, those sins are *always *forgiven. You can’t retract forgiveness.

**The point is that unless one *has the intent *to seek the sacrament of confession, one can’t have perfect contrition in the first place.

If one later fails to seek the sacrament of confession after one is forgiven, one incurs a new and separate sin.

Do you have a reference for this? Another inquirer in our group read a statement much like this from her Catholicism for Dummies book, but I couldn’t find this anywhere in the Catechism or the Code of Canon Law.

If I could find this statement in context, it would help.

In regard to the normative duty to use the sacrament of confession, see the following provision of Canon Law:

Canon 960 Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church. Only physical or moral impossibility excuses from confession of this type; in such a case reconciliation can be obtained by other means.

Can. 988 §1. A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet remitted directly through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which the person has knowledge after diligent examination of conscience.

As to perfect contrition containing within it the deisre for sacramental confesssion, see the Council of Trent, Session 14:

The Synod teaches moreover, that, although it sometimes happen that this contrition is perfect through charity, and reconciles man with God before this sacrament be actually received, the said reconciliation, nevertheless, is not to be ascribed to that contrition, independently of the desire of the sacrament which is included therein.

What do you think?
VC

 

[Nan_S]

In regard to the normative duty to use the sacrament of confession, see the following provision of Canon Law:

Canon 961 goes on to expound on this “reonciliation by other means” by describing times when the priest may grant absolution without individual confession, when there isn’t time (perhaps the man is bleeding to death), or grant absolution to everyone in a group who requested it, but there isn’t time (perhaps the priest is on a plane that is about to crash). Both of these still require the priest to grant the absolution.

I can’t find any support for the statement which says an individual in imminent danger of death can be forgiven, by making a perfect Act of Contrition with the intent of seeking out a priest if he survives the emergency. Do you suppose that the Catholics for Dummies authors got that from an old unofficial catechism?

As to perfect contrition containing within it the deisre for sacramental confesssion, see the Council of Trent, Session 14:
What do you think?
VC

Thanks. I’ll read that when I get off work tonight.

Nan

 

[Nan_S]

By the way, what about the already-baptized members of RCIA who won’t go to First Reconciliation until just before Easter Vigil. If any of them are harboring guilt over mortal sins (adultery, abortion…) and they get killed in a car wreck before Easter, have we denied them the chance of Heaven by delaying Reconciliation?

Nan

 

[Newbie2]

By the way, what about the already-baptized members of RCIA who won’t go to First Reconciliation until just before Easter Vigil. If any of them are harboring guilt over mortal sins (adultery, abortion…) and they get killed in a car wreck before Easter, have we denied them the chance of Heaven by delaying Reconciliation?

Nan

No, not if they are truly sorry for and repent of such sins. The sacrament of reconciliation would not in that circumstance not have been available to them, as they would not yet have been fully entered into the Church. This would be a similar situation as a Catholic who gets in a car crash and is killed on the way to church for reconciliation; in both instances the person does not have the opportunity to make a sacramental confession.

God is not a legalistic Pharisee. He knows our hearts and minds.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Canon 961 goes on to expound on this “reonciliation by other means” by describing times when the priest may grant absolution without individual confession, when there isn’t time (perhaps the man is bleeding to death), or grant absolution to everyone in a group who requested it, but there isn’t time (perhaps the priest is on a plane that is about to crash). Both of these still require the priest to grant the absolution.

Yes, that is right – but in both cases, when the ability to to confess one’s sins individually to the priest becomes available, one must do so.

The reason I directed you to Canon 961 was to show where one may find codified that the sacrament of confession is the “ordinary” and “normative” means for forgiveness of sin after baptism. Canon 988 also makes the same point, that Catholics are obliged to confess all grave sins of which they are aware which have not been *directly *through the keys of the Church.

I can’t find any support for the statement which says an individual in imminent danger of death can be forgiven, by making a perfect Act of Contrition with the intent of seeking out a priest if he survives the emergency. Do you suppose that the Catholics for Dummies authors got that from an old unofficial catechism?

I’m afraid you won’t find support for the statement as you have it, because “an individual in imminent danger of death” is not part of extra-sacramental forgiveness.

The section of the Council of Trent I quoted above is one source: “it sometimes happen that this contrition is perfect through charity, and reconciles man with God before this sacrament be actually received, the said reconciliation, nevertheless, is not to be ascribed to that contrition, independently of the desire of the sacrament which is included therein.”

Trent says that perfect contrition forgives sin before sacramental confession is received, but the desire to receive sacramental confession is part of perfect contrition.

Do you suppose that the Catholics for Dummies authors got that from an old unofficial catechism?

Nope. Its the traditional teaching of the Church. You can find it in Trent (as above), and in numerous other places. For instance here is Fr. Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary entry on “forgiveness”:

**FORGIVENESS. **Pardon or remission of an offense. . .God forgives sins to the truly repentant either immediately through an act of perfect contrition or mediately through a sacrament.

Does that help?

As a side note, I just want to point out again that perfect contrition forgives sins **anytime. You don’t have to be in danger of death. **In fact we are urged to make an act of perfect contrition as soon as we are aware of having committed a mortal sin.

VC

 

[Verbum_Caro]

By the way, what about the already-baptized members of RCIA who won’t go to First Reconciliation until just before Easter Vigil. If any of them are harboring guilt over mortal sins (adultery, abortion…) and they get killed in a car wreck before Easter, have we denied them the chance of Heaven by delaying Reconciliation?

Nan

That is why the teaching on perfect contrition forgiving sins is so important. They are in an excellent position to make an act of perfect contrition, and should be taught to do so.

VC

 

[jb80]

As a side note, I just want to point out again that perfect contrition forgives sins anytime. You don’t have to be in danger of death. In fact we are urged to make an act of perfect contrition as soon as we are aware of having committed a mortal sin.
VC

So are you are saying that perfect contrition will forgive sins at any time without a priest? If so then is a priest really only necessary when you are unable to make an act of perfect contrition?

Or are you saying that to make an act of perfect contrition you at least have to have the desire to go to the priest? If so, then do we sin if we don’t go to a priest after making an act of perfect contrition?

Or am I just misunderstanding what you are saying (Which is very likely ) Sorry about all the questions btw.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Hi jb80, welcome to the forums!

So are you are saying that perfect contrition will forgive sins at any time without a priest?

Yes.

If so then is a priest really only necessary when you are unable to make an act of perfect contrition?

No, the priest is necessary because 1)sacramental confession is the normative and ordinary means of obtaining forgiveness 2)perfect contrition must include the desire to receive sacramental confession and 3) all grave sins of which one is aware must be submitted to the “power of the keys” through the ministry of a priest.

Or are you saying that to make an act of perfect contrition you at least have to have the desire to go to the priest?

Yes, exactly.

If so, then do we sin if we don’t go to a priest after making an act of perfect contrition?

Yes, if you intentionally evade confession.

Sorry about all the questions btw.

No problem!

What do you think?

 

[Newbie2]

Good explanation.

 

[jb80]

What do you think?

I think that those answers are very much appreciated!

And thanks for the welcome as well!

 

[Ruthie]

Yes, it is in the Catechism.

[1452](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/1452.htm’) When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; *it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.

Emphasis *mine.

Ruthie

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Right, Ruthie, I had intended to cite the Catechism as well but it slipped my mind.

I should mention, also, that the three reasons I gave above for why confession to a priest is still necessary was not meant to be an exhaustive list.

For instance I can think of three other reasons why confession to a priest is important:

4)Because sacramental confession requires only imperfect contrition (attrition)

5)Because sacramental confession provides a level of surety that extra-sacramental does not

6)Because confession to a priest preserves the incarnational reality, and speaks to us on a human level

VC