Confession for protestants

[sfingi]

I’m new to this forum and I’m sure that this issue has been addressed many times over, but I’ll ask just the same (I don’t even know if this is the right place to post!).
A very good protestant friend confided in me that she had committed a grave sin (whether or not all the conditions were met to be called “mortal”, I can’t really say). Anyway, she wanted to know what she had to do to be certain that she’s forgiven. I assured her that her sin can be forgiven, but I couldn’t really say exactly how…without her having a belief in sacramental confession. She outright asked me if she had just lost her salvation (so much for OSAS), which of course is not for me to decide. I’m afraid that I wasn’t much comfort to her and I’d like to give her some words of comfort in her time of great need. She asked if she could go to confession, obviously believing that some sort of healing could come from it. Is this permissable?

 

[Kevin42]

Generally speaking, no, she cannot go to the sacrament of Confession. She certainly can meet with a priest to discuss the issue and receive Christian counseling, but the priest cannot give her his priestly absolution. The only time there is an exception to this rule is if the Protestant is officially in the process of entering the Church, or if there is a grave situation. Even in these cases, certain other criteria must be met (namely, they believe in the sacrament and they ask for it).

 

[LilyM]

Under the right conditions, mortal sin can be cleansed by Perfect Contrition (which means being sorry for your sins out of love of God rather than fear of Hell or losing salvation).

Try her with this Act of Perfect Contrition first …

“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins [add here the words ‘if and when I am able’], to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.”

She should say this as sincerely as she can. The ‘if and when I am able’ covers the fact that she may, through no fault of her own, never become Catholic and thus never be able to have a sacramental confession. God will, if she is sincere, understand the desire of her heart for forgiveness, and that if able she likely would go to Confession.

Then tell her, if she is so inclined, to at least look into RCIA (which is simply a learning course about Catholicism and doesn’t obligate you to become Catholic).

 

[MSJoan]

And maybe this is opening the door to something else, perhaps a call to conversion. Ask your priest if he would be willing to meet with her (the priests I know would welcome the opportunity). If he is, then give her the number to call, or offer to set something up for her. Your friend may also want you to introduce her to the priest.

No, it won’t be a sacramental confession, but you never know where it will lead.