Can a bad priest give a blessing

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Hi everyone! Yesterday I was telling my boyfriend who is not catholic about Saint Benedict medals and how they can protect us from evil. I was saying how you should get them blessed though. He brought up an interesting question that I didn’t know how to answer and was curious about myself. His question was, what happens if the priest who gives the blessing isn’t a holy man. What if they were part of the sex abuse scandal, or secretly a pedophile etc. does it effect the blessing?
 
Catholic26 said:
Hi everyone! Yesterday I was telling my boyfriend who is not catholic about Saint Benedict medals and how they can protect us from evil. I was saying how you should get them blessed though. He brought up an interesting question that I didn’t know how to answer and was curious about myself. His question was, what happens if the priest who gives the blessing isn’t a holy man. What if they were part of the sex abuse scandal, or secretly a pedophile etc. does it effect the blessing?
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As long as he was legally ordained, everything he does will be valid.
 
Catholic26 said:
His question was, what happens if the priest who gives the blessing isn’t a holy man.
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That is called the Donatist Heresy. Donatus, the Bishop of Carthage, held that priests and bishops who caved in to persecution were excommunicated and could never return to the Church. Peter, the Patriarch of Alexandria, his nominal superior, disagreed. Ordination remains valid, even if the priest or bishop is a sinner.

Peter’s position is logically defensible, Donatus’ is not. Imagine if Donatus were right – you die and find you were never baptized – because the priest who baptized you had sinned. You were living in sin, because the priest who officiated at your wedding had sinned. None of your sins were forgiven because the priest who gave you absolution had sinned,

The Donatist Heresy would make YOU responsible for another person’s sins!
 
The term used by the Church is Ex opere operato - “from the work worked” - meaning that sacraments derive their power from Christ’s work (ex opere operato Christi) rather than the role of humans. In other words the character or quality of the priest administering the sacraments doesn’t alter their effects.
 
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Yes.

The holiness (or unholiness) of a priest does not affect the sacraments he confers, or other priestly actions, such as blessings.

The early Church dealt with this question and confirmed likewise, which is certainly a good thing!
 
If we had to relay on the “perfection” of our priests I am afraid our faith would indeed be on very shaky ground. We are first and foremost humans and sinners.
St. Agustin wrote about this as in his own time there was a heresy going around that proposed just that (see the Donatists Schism). That a sinful priests actions would be null and void and deprived of all efficacy in administering the Sacraments.
As a result the dogma of the Church is that the Sacraments of the Church given to us by Jesus Himself do not depend on the priest for their efficacy (Ex Opere Operato) is this doctrine.
Hope this helps you.
 
Can a bad president sign a bill into law?

It is the authority of the office, not the purity of the resident.
 
Yes he could. He could even validly celebrate the Sacraments.
 
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