Are sins still forgiven if

[Sir_Knight]

… In order to make a sacrament invalid, there must be a defect in either matter or form. The matter of the Sacrament of Penance is the sins of the penitent, and the form is the words of absolution given by the priest …

What happens if a priest doesn’t saying the following words when pardoning us from our sins …

… God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit …

We have two priests in our parish (one is the paster and the other is a retired priest in residences) who only say “I forgive you. Go in the peace of Christ and sin no more.”

Are sins confessed and ‘forgiven’ in this manner, actually forgiven or are they still around? If so, how does one get rid of them especially if some of them have already been forgotten?

 

[Faithful_2_Rome]

They are forgiven in the sense that UNTIL you became aware of the Priests error…God accepted your confession…imperfectly…but now that you know what these priests are doing is WRONG…and maybe STILL went to them AFTER you became aware…invalidates those particular confessions altogether…your sins are not forgiven…you need to go to another church where the Priests are respectful of the power of this HOLY SACRAMENT and actually give a darn about what they are doing, and get it taken care of ASAP…oh, and dont hestitate to tell these guys what the error is…AND write the Bishop.

When you go to another church, explain to the Preist in the confessional about what took place and dont be afraid to tell him your fear of your past confessions not being valid even though your werent aware of the error…do your best to recall your sins…if you cant, tell the Priest this…look at the Ten Commandments and you will get a good idea of what you may have been guilty of in trying to recall… yep…its a BIG MESS, but its not your fault…blame the guys masquerading as Gods Servants!

…and look at this as Gods GRACE leading you to a greater knowledge of his church and to help you along the way of salvation.

 

[Rocky8311]

I think that absolution was valid in matter and form, but possibly illicit.

When consecrating the Eucharist, the required words (never mind the other required parts for now) are “This is my body” and “This is my blood”, so it’s probable that there’s one required clause for Absolution, which is probably “I forgive you in the name of the name of the…(trinity)”.

There are other rites in the Church, so words are different. The Priests may be wrong to change the words, but the absolution was probably still valid.

 

[bjford]

Some sort of saying is nessecary, though not nessecarily the “God the Father of Mercies” prayer. I think that’s what the Jansenists argued.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

The following is a direct quote from the Rite of Penance, which is basically the Church’s “how to” book on the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

Following the penitent’s prayer, the priest extends his hands, or at least his right hand, over the head of the penitent and pronounces the formulary of absolution, in which the essential words are: I ABSOLVE YOU FROM YOUR SINS IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. As he says the final phrase the priest makes the sign of the cross over the penitent. The form of absolution (see no. 46) indicates that the reconciliation of the penitent comes from the mercy of the Father; it shows the connection between the reconciliation of the sinner and the paschal mystery of Christ; it stresses the role of the Holy Spirit in the forgiveness of sins; finally, it underlines the ecclesial aspect of the sacrament, because reconciliation with God is asked for and given through the ministry of the Church.

Therefore, the absolution you received was invalid. If a sacrament is illicit, it simply is not allowed, but that does not mean the sacrament didn’t occur. Invalid, on the other hand, means that it was as if you had never received the sacrament at all. Get thee to a confessional ASAP, and try to remember anything you’ve confessed invalidly.

 

[baltobetsy]

Check out this thread on the idea that the Church supplies what is missing when you do what you are supposed to do, but the priest does not:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=991

This is a good question for the Ask an Apologist Forum.

Betsy

 

[Brendan]

Even then, the words to not have to be exact for a Sacramental Absolution to occur.

I would also like to point out that the Byzantine Catholic Churches use a different formula.

May God, through sinful me, absolve you of all transgressions both in the present age and in the age to come; and may He let you stand uncondemned before His dread Judgment Seat. As for the sins that you have confessed, have no further anxiety about them; go in peace.

That is still a valid absolution even though the words “I absolve” are not present.

 

[The_Barrister]

I agree with Dr. C: The power comes from God, and therefore the absolution must be from God through the priest. Saying “I forgive you” confers no sacramental value - you may as well have confessed to your mother (you know she’ll forgive you, too).

In my opinion, for those times where you did not pick up on the lack of clear absolution, and then went to a subsequent confession, your earlier confessed (but unforgiven) sins would then be forgiven in conjunction with the new, valid confession.