Confession: Seeking Psychological Help as Prerequisite for Absolution?

[DaveBj]

Hypothetical situation:

The Penitent has an addiction that occasionally manifests itself in solitary sin, which he regularly confesses. On one occasion a priest from out of town tells him that since the actions are the result of an addiction, for the Penitent to not seek psychological help for that problem could in itself be a mortal sin, and he can’t give absolution unless the penitent seeks it.

Can he do that?

DaveBj

 

[JerrySeibert]

Absolution is the ‘forgiveness’ of sin. Pennance (The work after confession) is where the penitent must ‘work’ in order not to fall back into sin. In a way seeking phsycological help can be a form of pennance. We always think pennance is saying the "Lords prayer and a Glory Be and 5 Hail Marys’.
Go to Catholicity.com … Search Fr. Larry Richards. He does an awesome speach that you can download on confession.
I hope that helps.

 

[Spirithound]

Hypothetical situation:

The Penitent has an addiction that occasionally manifests itself in solitary sin, which he regularly confesses. On one occasion a priest from out of town tells him that since the actions are the result of an addiction, for the Penitent to not seek psychological help for that problem could in itself be a mortal sin, and he can’t give absolution unless the penitent seeks it.

Can he do that?

I don’t think so. That sounds very much like requiring you to break the seal of confession.

 

[guanophore]

Hypothetical situation:

The Penitent has an addiction that occasionally manifests itself in solitary sin, which he regularly confesses. On one occasion a priest from out of town tells him that since the actions are the result of an addiction, for the Penitent to not seek psychological help for that problem could in itself be a mortal sin, and he can’t give absolution unless the penitent seeks it.

Can he do that?

DaveBj

It is incumbent upon the pentitent to do everything within his power to prevent the sin from happening again. This means to avoid near occasions of sin, and to engage in whatever activities strengthen the soul to prevent falling into it.

Psychological help is not a substitute for confession, but it is part of the penitent’s responsibility for reducing the occasions or proneness to the sin.

Think of it like an addiction to alcohol. The priest can give absolution for the bad consequences of using alcohol, but it is not in his area of expertise to help the person to live alcohol free.

In this case, the salient point seems to be obedience. If the priest is indicating psychological help, then the penitent should welcome this spiritual direction as God’s way of helping solve the problem.

 

[DaveBj]

I dunno. To me, this would sound like an admission by the priest that Christ no longer has the power to heal and forgive, and therefore we must turn to what is really a fallible human science (I have relatives who have been in psychological treatment for years, without noticeable benefit).

Spirithound, I don’t think the seal of the confessional applies to the person confessing; only to the priest hearing the confession. I could be wrong; I have been wrong before. But in this case, I don’t think I am.

DaveBj

 

[michaeldaniels]

yeah, but on the same token, a priest can not force someone to publicly admit their sin to an individual or group of individuals, which in a sense is what they would be trying to do if they stipulate that part of their penance is to seek help. Any pentitent can voluntarily talk about their confession to others, but one can not be forced to do so if they don’t feel comfortable about it…that is in fact the priest breaking the seal of confession even though the word will not be coming out of their mouth. They can highly recommend seeking counselling as a suggestion, which they should…but it should never be “you better do this”

I dunno. To me, this would sound like an admission by the priest that Christ no longer has the power to heal and forgive, and therefore we must turn to what is really a fallible human science (I have relatives who have been in psychological treatment for years, without noticeable benefit).

Spirithound, I don’t think the seal of the confessional applies to the person confessing; only to the priest hearing the confession. I could be wrong; I have been wrong before. But in this case, I don’t think I am.

DaveBj

 

[Spirithound]

I dunno. To me, this would sound like an admission by the priest that Christ no longer has the power to heal and forgive…

If you have cancer, do you go to the doctor for medical treatment, the priest for the Anointing of the Sick, or both?

Spirithound, I don’t think the seal of the confessional applies to the person confessing; only to the priest hearing the confession. I could be wrong; I have been wrong before. But in this case, I don’t think I am.

The seal is not so much “binding” on the penitent, but it is a privilege for them. That means I cannot be obligated by the priest to tell anyone what I tell the priest in confession.

 

[Elizium23]

One pastor I had a few years ago held the view that modern psychotherapy and psychiatry often works as competition with the Church-sanctioned channels of grace and forgiveness, mainly the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He preached the dangers of Big Pharma and psychoactive drugs that purport to heal all manner of ailments but really do nothing but treat superficial symptoms, if that. I truly believe he is on to something, as children are often overmedicated on Ritalin and adults on all manner of drugs that don’t really help their conditions. I think that people often substitute psychotherapy for a good session with a competent confessor.

Truly effective pastors know enough psychology to be helpful to penitents with mental health problems. It is a matter of understanding the human spirit and how we interact with the divine. Psychotherapists will claim it’s all chemical and so many are atheists, it can do terrible damage to one’s faith to be caught up in the mental health system.

I speak from experience here because I have suffered from mental illness for over 20 years. I have been on many types of medication, and while I don’t reject them all out of hand, I know that many are worse than placebos - fraught with dangerous side effects. As a matter of fact I do take medication now, and I’m finally happy with the way it manages my symptoms on a small therapeutic dose - the doctors are frequently surprised to find out how little I am prescribed.

But my true mental healing did not come from “the system.” It comes from rejoining the Catholic Church and placing my complete faith in her sacraments. I can often tell when my symptoms are acting up that it is time to go back to the confessional and lay my sins at the foot of the cross. Praise be to God for confession and the Eucharist!

 

[EasterJoy]

Can. 980 If the confessor has no doubt about the disposition of the penitent, and the penitent seeks absolution, absolution is to be neither refused nor deferred.

Can. 981 The confessor is to impose salutary and suitable penances in accord with the quality and number of sins, taking into account the condition of the penitent. The penitent is obliged to fulfill these personally.

If a priest honestly has doubt that the penitent is properly disposed–for instance, if a penitent does not show a firm commitment to refuse a confessed sin in the future–the priest may find that he cannot in good conscience give absolution.

This isn’t the same as the absolution being contingent on some sort of penance. This is making the decision that the penitent is truly contrite contingent on what the penitent is willing to do in order to avoid committing the sin or what the penitent is willing to do in order to make amends for the sin. These are two different things.

If the penitent says he is sorry for a sin that he repeats over and over and yet is not willing to change anything that he’s been doing to avoid the sin, then the confessor may rightly decide that the penitent is not properly disposed, and may refuse absolution.

That is how it has been explained to me.

 

[EasterJoy]

Hypothetical situation:

The Penitent has an addiction that occasionally manifests itself in solitary sin, which he regularly confesses. On one occasion a priest from out of town tells him that since the actions are the result of an addiction, for the Penitent to not seek psychological help for that problem could in itself be a mortal sin, and he can’t give absolution unless the penitent seeks it.

Can he do that?

DaveBj

BTW, I’m not sure what you mean in this hypothetical by a “solitary sin”. We belong to the Body of Christ, and harm the Body of Christ by our every sin. There aren’t any sins of which the sinner and God are the only victims.

At any rate, the discernment about whether or not a penitent is properly disposed might be expected to differ from one confessor to another, if there is any shade of grey involved, regardless of what town the priest is coming from. I’d think this is one of those shade-of-grey situations, similar to what might occur in the practice of medicine.

 

[DaveBj]

yeah, but on the same token, a priest can not force someone to publicly admit their sin to an individual or group of individuals, which in a sense is what they would be trying to do if they stipulate that part of their penance is to seek help. Any pentitent can voluntarily talk about their confession to others, but one can not be forced to do so if they don’t feel comfortable about it…that is in fact the priest breaking the seal of confession even though the word will not be coming out of their mouth. They can highly recommend seeking counselling as a suggestion, which they should…but it should never be “you better do this”

Good point. Thanks for chiming in.

One pastor I had a few years ago held the view that modern psychotherapy and psychiatry often works as competition with the Church-sanctioned channels of grace and forgiveness, mainly the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He preached the dangers of Big Pharma and psychoactive drugs that purport to heal all manner of ailments but really do nothing but treat superficial symptoms, if that. I truly believe he is on to something, as children are often overmedicated on Ritalin and adults on all manner of drugs that don’t really help their conditions. I think that people often substitute psychotherapy for a good session with a competent confessor.

Truly effective pastors know enough psychology to be helpful to penitents with mental health problems. It is a matter of understanding the human spirit and how we interact with the divine. Psychotherapists will claim it’s all chemical and so many are atheists, it can do terrible damage to one’s faith to be caught up in the mental health system.

I speak from experience here because I have suffered from mental illness for over 20 years. I have been on many types of medication, and while I don’t reject them all out of hand, I know that many are worse than placebos - fraught with dangerous side effects. As a matter of fact I do take medication now, and I’m finally happy with the way it manages my symptoms on a small therapeutic dose - the doctors are frequently surprised to find out how little I am prescribed.

But my true mental healing did not come from “the system.” It comes from rejoining the Catholic Church and placing my complete faith in her sacraments. I can often tell when my symptoms are acting up that it is time to go back to the confessional and lay my sins at the foot of the cross. Praise be to God for confession and the Eucharist!

My heart goes out to you. You will be on my mind when I pray the Rosary tomorrow.

BTW, I’m not sure what you mean in this hypothetical by a “solitary sin”. We belong to the Body of Christ, and harm the Body of Christ by our every sin. There aren’t any sins of which the sinner and God are the only victims.

At any rate, the discernment about whether or not a penitent is properly disposed might be expected to differ from one confessor to another, if there is any shade of grey involved, regardless of what town the priest is coming from. I’d think this is one of those shade-of-grey situations, similar to what might occur in the practice of medicine.

The bolded statement is certainly true in the “no man is an island” sense, but there is still a big difference between a solitary sin (like coveting my neighbor’s new Mustang) and a not-so-solitary sin (like stealing it and totalling it).

(Full disclosure: None of my neighbors has a new Mustang, or an old one, for that matter. And if someone gave me a new Mustang, I would sell it and use the $$$ elsewhere.)

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

It is also important to note that an addiction can not, by definition, be a mortal sin as it lacks one of the three necessary components to be a mortal sin.

That of free consent of the will.

Also not seeking psychological help for an addiction would not be a mortal sin, again because of the lack of free consent.

 

[EasterJoy]

The bolded statement is certainly true in the “no man is an island” sense, but there is still a big difference between a solitary sin (like coveting my neighbor’s new Mustang) and a not-so-solitary sin (like stealing it and totalling it).

(Full disclosure: None of my neighbors has a new Mustang, or an old one, for that matter. And if someone gave me a new Mustang, I would sell it and use the $$$ elsewhere.)

There is a reason, though, that coveting made it into the Ten Commandments. It does damage to your relationship with your neighbor, even if you never lay a finger on that Mustang…or his wife, or whatever else you are jealous that fate put in his possession.

The Mustang is destined to become dust, no matter what happens, and we are not married but live like the angels after we die, but your relationship with your neighbor is something that you will have to enjoy (or endure) for all of eternity. It is invisible, but it is still a substantial “something” that needs care. I don’t think it is hard to see which is more important to have in “factory” condition when the Lord comes!