Confessing to a sinning priest

[LilyM]

In a family:
The parents probably are the ones who are more sinning.
Their young kid is probably the most innocent one.

Yet, the parents want their kid to tell them what the kid has done wrong, etc …

Is it because the parents are sinless or because their authority is as being parent?

In the same way, Jesus has given the authority to apostles, priests, and you are to obey.

very well done!

 

[upbeatjonm]

It is a much bigger hipocracy to claim to be Catholic and use this excuse to not go to confession.

By the way, who are the “they” in the sentence above? And if indeed they did this, were they acting as the “Church”?

By they, I am just referring to the generalization in the popular media, of the church, and of the practice of bad priests getting passed along from parish to parish, and generally covering up the scandal. I know it is a generalization, but it raises its ugly head each time another news story appears of a new out-of-court settlement by a certain archdiocese, with past victims of abuse.

 

[davidv]

By they, I am just referring to the generalization in the popular media, of the church, and of the practice of bad priests getting passed along from parish to parish, and generally covering up the scandal. I know it is a generalization, but it raises its ugly head each time another news story appears of a new out-of-court settlement by a certain archdiocese, with past victims of abuse.

So, how do all of these short comings of individuals add up to a corrupt teaching on what makes for a valid confession? (by the way, a sinless priest is not one of the things that makes a confession valid or effective)

 

[Pier]

Jesus Himself said that those in positions of authority could be great sinners, but that they still taught the truth - in which case we were to do as they say, but not as they do.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Not quite every day.

But ask your friend - if they had a doctor who had, say, terminal cancer or something, but was otherwise still totally able to peform an operation that they desperately needed, would they refuse to use the services of that doctor?

That’s not a good analogy: cancer is a disease - not a sin; it is not blameworthy to have cancer. Child-molesting priests are not only sinners, but commit several sins each time they commit the (extremely grave) sin of molestation. People suffering from cancer don’t pollute those with whom they deal - paedophiles pollute those with whom they deal, by spreading their filthy perversion; they drag others down to Hell as well as themselves.​

So those who suffer from cancer, & ordained paedophiles, have nothing in common.

It’s at least questionable whether paedophiles are even competent to give absolution - if they have such distorted values, how can they be fit to take on so great a responsibility ? It is all too likely that a paedophile priest would simply be adding to his sins by hearing a confession, because a sacrament is a holy thing, & paedophile priests are unclean & unholy; for them to act as priests, is to risk committing sacrilege. To administer the sacraments while being in slavery to sin is a very bad way to treat them; & what is a paedophile priest, if not a slave to sin ?

As for converting such wretched men - that is not a good reason for going to confession; that should not be a motive at all.

Another poster referred to the reference in Matthew 23 to the Pharisees: the comparison referred to falls down, because priests hear confessions - however, the Pharisees did not; their commands were not of that kind. So the authority of the two is different in kind; what was said about the commands of the Pharisees cannot be applied to the authority of Catholic priests - that the words of Jesus about the Pharisees in that passage are appropriate to Catholic priests as well, needs to be shown, & not taken for granted.

 

[Church_Militant]

It’s at least questionable whether paedophiles are even competent to give absolution - if they have such distorted values, how can they be fit to take on so great a responsibility ? It is all too likely that a paedophile priest would simply be adding to his sins by hearing a confession, because a sacrament is a holy thing, & paedophile priests are unclean & unholy; for them to act as priests, is to risk committing sacrilege. To administer the sacraments while being in slavery to sin is a very bad way to treat them; & what is a paedophile priest, if not a slave to sin ?

The problem with this Gottle, is that you do not know the priest’s heart. None of us can, and so none of us can make the kind of judgments that you have here.

Furthermore, the Church does indeed teach that the sacrament of reconciliation operates the same regardless of the spiritual condition of the priest.

Absolution, is still efficacious for the person confessing because the grace is administered based upon the promise and sacrament of God, without respect to the priest.

So a sinful priest could validly hear confession and give absolution.

No one but Christ Himself is (as you put it) “fit to take on so great a responsibility”, regardless of how holy (or not) they are. We have to remember that we are confessing to Christ, as He has ordained it.

Originally Posted by Philthy

They dont want to come clean in front of a priest who may very well be a greater sinner? Hmmmm - Im afraid I dont follow the logic at all. You think they would feel more comfortable in front of someone with no sins at all? Where is the comfort in that?
The obvious problem with this person’s rationale is that they somehow believe that the sinlessness of the priest contributes to their own forgiveness. The person has lost sight of the fact that it is God, the sinless One, who is doing the forgiving through the ministry of the priesthood. I dont believe that is the problem, however. I believe this person is simply making excuses as others have suggested.Phil is spot on here. The guy is making excuses. I’d suggest that he needs to be concerned for his own soul. Besides, how tough can it be to get to know your parish priest (Sheesh! Take him to lunch!) and in that way allay whatever concerns one might have.

For all the reasons that I have stated so far, I think that even concerning oneself about such a thing with respect to Confession is pretty useless, since it presumes that this is a problem for most, or all priests and the fact is that that is not the case at all at all.

 

[fellowChristian]

Here you have in the Old Testament God telling Moses the Laws. Moses never asks God why? This is Confession before the sacrifice of Jesus.

Levitcus 4

27’Now if **anyone of the common people sins **unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,

28if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.

**29’He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. **

30’The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

31’Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and **the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. **

32’But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.

33’He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering.

34’The** priest **is to take some of the **blood of the sin offering **with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

35’Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD **Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven. **

Here you have God giving the apostles the authority to forgive and retain sins. In order to forgive or retain someone needs to speak aloud.Notice no one asks why?

John 20

21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you;** as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” **

22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

 

[Sir_Knight]

I actually heard that Pope John Paul II confessed everyday. He obviously had a clear view of what sin is.

Three times a week ,