This might go better in a different forum, but I can’t think of an example other than …, so I’m posting it here for the time being… What happens in confession when the penitent person tries to confess something that the Priest does not believe is a sin? I have never confessed to anything about which there was disagreement about sinfulness, so I’m curious about the answer.
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original post edited for this window
Nuance,
(some of my post is going to repeat and reinforce what others have already responded)
Remember that the priest is there as the judge and as the representative of the Church. The Church provides us with definitions of what constitutes sin, and trains Her priests in discerning this. I’m not going to get into discussing any particular act, but in the Sacrament of Confession, the penitent needs to follow the guidance of the priest-confessor. I would ask you to consider you own words here “something that the priest does not believe is a sin” It’s not the priest’s role in confession to act according to what he “believes to be a sin”, but according to what the Church teaches and professes to be a sin. Before anyone takes that the wrong way (and I have no doubt that in spite of that, there will be people more than eager to manipulate that to mean something else), that means that when the priest is speaking in confession he is indeed judging and teaching what the Church teaches. A penitent who has some reservations about this is certainly free, and indeed encouraged to ask for further clarification and guidance, but the penitent should accept the judgment made by the priest that what he is is saying is indeed what the Church teaches. Since the priest is the judge, he has a different perspective and more in-depth theological training. It’s not unusual for something that others (who have incomplete knowledge) will label a “sin” is in fact not a sin–because they do not have the same training, perspective, or specific knowledge of the act/circumstances that the priest-confessor has, especially given the inviolable Seal of the sacrament. Never forget that every sin is personal, and even what might seem at first glance to be “objectively sinful” (either to the penitent or to a third party) might not be once all the details are revealed. It is precisely the priest-confessor’s role and sacred resposibility to discern this and make a judgment.
Even though your question is a hypothetical one, the answer is the same as it would be for a real confession:
I don’t know what the context was, what the specifics were, what your intentions were, or the status of your conscience. I neither want nor need to know. The priest who did in fact hear that confession made his decision based on what he did know. The penitent’s conscience is clear in accepting that decision.
If it turns out that the priest’s decision was incorrect, the fact remains that this hypothetical penitent did confess it. If it was a sin, the penitent has been absolved because:
- the sin was confessed aloud and
- absolution was pronounced
(I’m presuming that in your scenario, there is contrition, penance, and everything else required for a valid confession)
In fact, the above paragraph is the direct answer to your question “what happens if…?”
Since you posed the question in the first place, I would also add the following:
If one doesn’t understand something that happens in confession, by all means, feel free to talk to the priest-confessor about it. Talk to another priest. Talk to a competent spritiual director. It is indeed a good thing to do that, and I strongly urge a real person in a similar situation to consider this.
I understand full well that the purpose of your post is that you have a question, and you came here for some guidance. You posted a hypothetical situation and your question is your way of coming to a fuller understanding of your faith, and deeper relationship with God. That’s certainly a good thing. I do hope that readers here will keep in mind that the priest is the judge in the confessional, and the internet is not the court of appeals from that decision.
