Can priests damn people?

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BrooklynBoy200

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I was flipping through my history book and i saw a section on the crusades, which i started to read. It said that knights went to priests to bless their swords and to damn their enemies. Can priests damn people? Was this just medieval superstition? And can priests bless weapons? And if they can, should they?
Sorry for so many questions. Thankyou.
 
The only person who can damn another is the self.

If you or I go to Hell we damn ourselves to that place. That place of eternal damnation.

Your other questions are really about humans and can humans sin?

Yes. Being a Priest or even a Pope (as you learned in another thread) does not make one SIN FREE.

Mere Humans sin. Mary did not.

Next thread now!
 
Doesn’t the Church kind of “damn” someone when they excommunicate someone? I don’t mean to say anything offensive so nobody get fired up, please. But isn’t excommunication denying someone salvation and therefore “damning” the person? I could be very much mistaken and i am sorry if i am.
 
The only person who can excommunicate another is the self.

ETA: Yes, a priest can bless weapons. Should they? I think it depends.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
The only person who can excommunicate another is the self.

ETA: Yes, a priest can bless weapons. Should they? I think it depends.
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i don’t get what your trying to say…the Church can excommunicate people.
 
the Church does excommunicate people, but only in response to something that the person chose to do…in a sense choosing to deny salvation, or sometimes in the case of the Catholic Church be excommunicated.

Even though a person may receive excommunication papers, nothing is impossible for God…meaning that all persons can be saved. 🙂
 
BrooklynBoy200 said:
…the Church can excommunicate people.
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Yes. They can. And the person has most definately earned it if it be by the self or the Chuch doing it.

It is not a permanent condition.

Unless that person wants it to be. Far as I know, it can be lifted.

And you do realize that non-catholics can be saved?

Just want to be sure you know that.

The Church can not and has not speculated on who specifically is going to hell and who is not. In specific. Excommunication or otherwise, if it were true, it would be clear to us in the “who’s going to hell list”
See what I mean?

We know how you can get to hell, but we cant say who is there.
 
BrooklynBoy200 said:
Doesn’t the Church kind of “damn” someone when they excommunicate someone? I don’t mean to say anything offensive so nobody get fired up, please. But isn’t excommunication denying someone salvation and therefore “damning” the person? I could be very much mistaken and i am sorry if i am.
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No, the Church is not “damning” someone when they excommunicate them. It is a ban on that person being able to receive the sacraments, and it can be lifted.
 
Can Priests bless weapons seems to bother you.

Some bless cars, homes, you name it. All my crosses are blessed.

Icons too.

Now, as far as what a Priest does or does not do —

He is answerable to God just like you and me. Let God decide if it was wrong.

We are in no way able to get his side of the story now are we?

Also, there is such a thing as a Just War.

So maybe it could be okay. It depends. We need more facts.

I’m not going to bring my shotgun in to Church and ask it be blessed so I can get better skeet scores.

Common sense people.
 
Thanks for the answers everyone. I was just thinking that since a person can’t recieve the sacraments, that includes confession, so if he was in a state of mortal sin then he would go to hell. Unless he made a perfect act of contrition, of course. But i understand what you guys are saying and i thankyou for taking the time to explain it. And the thing with the weapons was that i was thinking that it would be kind of wierd to bring your sword in to a church and ask the priest to bless it to help it kill more people.
 
BrooklynBoy200 said:
Thanks for the answers everyone. I was just thinking that since a person can’t recieve the sacraments, that includes confession, so if he was in a state of mortal sin then he would go to hell. Unless he made a perfect act of contrition, of course. But i understand what you guys are saying and i thankyou for taking the time to explain it. And the thing with the weapons was that i was thinking that it would be kind of wierd to bring your sword in to a church and ask the priest to bless it to help it kill more people.
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Brooklyn Boy,

Its good to ask questions. In fact, I give you a lot of credit here. Many people I know dont do it. They should. Nothing wrong with a question.
It means you have an interest in your faith. Its a very good thing IMHO.

I think the fact that you are asking so many questions is telling me that you are in a big hurry to solve something.

Take it slow. We cant solve all the worlds problems in one fell swoop, that is God’s job and its in the works as we speak.
We need to be focused on being a light to the world, and its hard to do if we get to bogged down in too many things at one time.

I like your questions. You are a inquisitive person, and that is a refreshing thing.

Keep it up!🙂
 
Brooklyn Boy, you need a better understanding of excommunication. It is an action that is meant to lead to the person’s reconciliation and healing. It says, in effect, what you have done is very, very serious. So serious in fact, that you must go through a process to be reconciled with the Church. It makes you unable to receive Holy Communion but not Reconciliation. Reconciliation is where the process of lifting an excommunication begins.

Usually, the lifting of an excommunication is a process that includes the priest going to a higher authority such as the bishop to get permission to do so. Some cases, such as abortion in the United States, are now sadly so common that any priest has the authority to lift the excommunication in an ordinary confession. Additionally, when the sinner is in danger of death, excommunication may be lifted by any priest at all, without regard to the sin in question.

So you see, we are not engaged with God in some cosmic game of GOTCHA where one false move can land us in hell. He loves us and desires our salvation and provides all kinds of remedies for our sins.

Never forget, Brooklyn Boy, HE LOVES YOU.

Betsy
 
didymus said:
Huh?
:confused: :confused: :confused:

Did I miss an encyclical?
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Its in the CCC. I am in the middle of a big family gig right now so I cant look it up for you now.

Try the search button, type in just war and see if that works-- I’ll do my best to get it for you but I will admit, it was not on my list of things to do on a Saturday…:o
 
BrooklynBoy200 said:
I was flipping through my history book and i saw a section on the crusades, which i started to read. It said that knights went to priests to bless their swords and to damn their enemies. Can priests damn people? Was this just medieval superstition? And can priests bless weapons? And if they can, should they?
Sorry for so many questions. Thankyou.
Click to expand...
Guidance for priests on blessings is given in the liturgica book “Book of Blessings”. There is no specific blessing for weapons, but there is one for “the blessing of tools or other equipment for work.” (Book of Blessings, Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1875-8, page 339).

The last blessing in the book is “Order for a Blessing to be used in Various Circumstances”. Its introduction has:
“… 1985 The present order is in no sense mean to violate principles concerning blessings; it is not fitting to turn every object or situation into an occasion for celebrating a blessing (for example, every monument erected no matter what its theme, the installation of military weapons, frivolous events). Rather every celebration must be considered with balanced pastoral judgment, particularly when there is any foreseeable danger of shocking the faithful or other people.”

The church does not have ceremonies to damn people. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that it is wrong to do this:
“447. How does one respect the holiness of the Name of God? … It is also wrong to use the holy Name of God in any improper way as in blasphemy (which by its nature is a grave sin), curses, and unfaithfulness to promises made in the Name of God.”
 
One needs to bear in mind that what was in the history book was then and this is now. Becoming a Knight was a religous process as well as learning the moves. Going on Crusade to win back the holy places from the infidel was considered holy work. Things that might seem strange to us today were often not strange at all in the context of the times. I don’t expect the “damning” was particularly effective but it might make a Knight feel better. One warning about what one reads in a history book; don’t always believe every thing you read, some historians have an “axe to grind.”
 
BrooklynBoy200 said:
Doesn’t the Church kind of “damn” someone when they excommunicate someone? I don’t mean to say anything offensive so nobody get fired up, please. But isn’t excommunication denying someone salvation and therefore “damning” the person? I could be very much mistaken and i am sorry if i am.
Click to expand...
Excommunication does NOT damn a person. In fact, it is a harsh punishment for grave evil, and the church uses it as a way to make the excommunicated aware of the seriousness of the sin. The church encourages the excommunicated to repent and make necessary arrangements to be reinstated by proper authorities. A “ordinary” parish priest usually cannot absolve the excommunicated. The excommunicated is not considered a member of the church, but remains a baptized Christian. (New Catholic Dictionary)
 
Excommunication does NOT damn a person. In fact, it is a harsh punishment for grave evil, and the church uses it as a way to make the excommunicated aware of the seriousness of the sin. The church encourages the excommunicated to repent and make necessary arrangements to be reinstated by proper authorities. A “ordinary” parish priest usually cannot absolve the excommunicated. The excommunicated is not considered a member of the church, but remains a baptized Christian. (New Catholic Dictionary)
 
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