Ask a Priest Anything...about Confession!

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IdaCatholic said:
  • Do YOU prefer face to face or anonymous?
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I prefer to go anonymously and to hear confession anonymously, though I rarely have the luxury of going anonymously myself. Usually I’m confessing face-to-face to whatever brother priest I can get a hold of when I need to go. Most of the time it’s in the parking lot after a dinner out, or in the house chapel.
IdaCatholic said:
  1. How do you encourage people to form and trust their conscience?
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Catechesis, of course, and not seeking help online if one has a scrupulous or otherwise ill-formed conscience. I’m not really sure what you mean by this question, it’s fairly broad.
 
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No.

The faithful have the right to the sacraments provided they ask in a timely manner, are properly disposed, and are not impeded by law. So as long as these things are the case, I couldn’t turn them away. I might advise them we should go somewhere less public so no one can hear. But I wouldn’t refuse.

Complete separation.

Nothing in particular, just be patient with them, and know the priest will help them.
 
Probably better to wait till the current confession is done, usually that shouldn’t be more than a few minutes, than to barge in amidst someone’s confession.
 
What is your thoughts and reaction when a penitent is very nervous, short of breath while confessing
 
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I try to calm them down, I guess. I don’t think a whole lot about it, I just do what’s in front of me to do.
 
What is the policy on a family member or friend going into Confession along with the penitent. Suppose it’s a young child who is scared? Or a child or adult with a physical or mental disability who might need aid?
 
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Zach said:
What is the policy on a family member or friend going into Confession along with the penitent. Suppose it’s a young child who is scared? Or a child or adult with physical or mental disability who might need aid?
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The only thing that the law really says about something like this is in the case of a translator, in which case the translator is barred from divulging the contents of the Confession. I’m not sure I would allow anyone else into the confessional with the penitent, but would make other arrangements. I know of one parish where those with special needs confess in a pew in the Church, but with their parents sitting within sight, but also out of earshot. I think an arrangement like that would be more appropriate and more respectful of the privacy of the penitent.
 
What are the requirements for me to confess? Is it baptism and confirmation? I fell out of Catholicism, but I think I’m still canonically one as I was confirmed growing up.
 
I’m not sure if you are able to comment on this but I’ll ask in case you can. What is the longest time period a penitent said it has been since their last Confession?
 
nfinke said:
I also believe that God hears my prayers. … I dont see the essential role the priest plays in the forgiveness of sins.
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God certainly hears your prayers in which you confess to Him. However, are you certain that He forgives your sins that you’ve confessed?

It sounds like a silly question, but bear with me for a second…
  • if you confess “I committed such-and-such a sin yesterday, God, and I’m sorry”… but you don’t have a firm purpose of resolve (and, in fact, are planning to do the same thing tomorrow), then the Church teaches that you aren’t contrite in the way that brings forgiveness.
  • if you commit a mortal sin, and simply confess a sin in prayer to God out of fear of damnation (i.e., “imperfect contrition”), the Church teaches that this confession doesn’t bring with it forgiveness. (In fact, even with “perfect contrition” – that is, contrition that proceeds from sorrow that one has offended God – the Church teaches that recourse to confession as soon as practicable is necessary!)
I have even heard many Catholics say things like “you arent really talking to the priest in the confessional, youre talking to Jesus, he is just standing in for Him”.
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That’s not quite correct. Jesus gave authority to the Church to perform the act of absolution, and He promised that when absolution takes place, He forgives sins. So, the priest really does do something in the confessional – on behalf of the Church, he absolves, which triggers Jesus’ promise to give divine forgiveness!
 
edward_george1 said:
I don’t mind if employees come to me in confession, and I treat them as I would anyone else. I can’t say for certain if any of them have, to be honest. And in the hypothetical you propose, I wouldn’t be able to act on that outside the confessional, of course.
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That presents quite the dilemma, though, doesn’t it? If it were confessed to you that an employee has had his hand in the till, you’d be bound to not take any action or otherwise betray what had been confessed. Wouldn’t it be better to advise employees to go to other priests, so that you wouldn’t be placed in that situation? (I mean, you could counsel the person to go to someone in authority in the parish and admit to the theft, but if they come to you, you’re still in a tough position vis-a-vis acting on that!)
 
I agree that it is prudent that employees not confess to the priest who employs them, but the situation you present, while awkward, isn’t impossible to deal with.

If an employee of the parish confessed to embezzling from the parish, I am not absolutely bound not to do anything about that. I am bound not to act on the information I received from the confessional. But if said employee were to admit it outside of confession, or get caught by another employee, who then reported it, I could act upon that information. Just because someone admits an act in the internal forum doesn’t mean it gets locked away forever and is totally unactionable. I could only be bound not to act if my only source of information was the confessional itself. Anything else, all bets are off.

It’s no more a dilemma than the serial killer who confesses to you, and you can strongly encourage him to turn himself in, but you cannot violate the seal. But if you then find out from another channel, outside the confessional, that this person is the serial killer, it doesn’t matter that they confessed to you. The seal doesn’t protect what isn’t placed under it.
 
If you were baptized, you are canonically a Catholic. You are allowed to approach the sacrament, provided you are not impeded by law (i.e. not under some kind of penalty, nor in a situation that makes receiving the sacrament invalid), are properly disposed, and ask in a timely manner.

Call your parish, get a meeting with the priest, tell him you’ve been away and want to come back. He will guide you.
 
Canon law provides penalties for certain offenses. The best known is excommunication. In order to incur a penalty, it must either be declared by the bishop or even the Pope, or else it is an automatic penalty levied by the law itself when you committed the act.

But if you weren’t aware something carried an automatic penalty, you couldn’t have incurred one. In other words, if you were under a penalty, you’d know.
 
Thank you Father. Wording it this way really cleared it up for me. I had experienced that in confession but didn’t realize that might be one of the points. I guess God is alot wiser than I am. Who knew.

Thanks again and God bless!
 
I say something similar in case I forget anything (my poor brain & I aren’t getting any younger).
 
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