Confession

[BenRosa]

Greetings:

Question: Can non-Catholics go to confession?

Thanks for any and all guidance.

 

[JimG]

In order to receive Catholic sacraments (except Baptism), one must first become Catholic.

 

[nike248]

BenRosa:

Greetings:

Question: Can non-Catholics go to confession?

Thanks for any and all guidance.

You can, you just can’t receive absolution, unfortunately. It still helps to go though if you want. It’s a personal favorite of mine.

 

[godsent]

My dads a protestant and he says to me"what man can tell me if he can forgive my sins,i would rather forgive your sins than a priest who has no more connection to god than anybody else"…he also says “he thinks its an insult that a man thinks he can compare himself to god and forgive someones sins,gods the only one who can do that,all you can do is pray”
I dont fully agree with this,but i agree with,what man can forgive my sins,no man!
God is the only forgiver!
I know what you will say,a priest is gods representative on earth,but my dad sometimes really makes me think about catholism and some of its faults,but my dad is totally open minded about all religion and hasnt really got a “faith”,he will listen to anything!

 

[mjdonnelly]

what about:

“sins you forgive are forgiven, sins you retain are retained”

Jesus was giving permission to the Apostles to forgive sins in his name.

 

[ldelatorre]

godsent:

its an insult that a man thinks he can compare himself to god and forgive someones sins,gods the only one who can do that,all you can do is pray

Yes - Read John 20:22-23. The Lord clearly gives his Apostoles the power to forgive and retain sins. But He did not give them the power to read minds; so in order for them to know which sins to forgive and which to retain the sins must be made known to them i.e. confessed.

 

[atsheeran]

Orthodox Christian can go to confession to a Catholic priest and receive absolution. The same is true for members of other churches with valid sacraments.

Can. 844 §3 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick to members of the eastern Churches not in full communion with the catholic Church, if they spontaneously ask for them and are properly disposed. The same applies to members of other Churches which the Apostolic See judges to be in the same position as the aforesaid eastern Churches so far as the sacraments are concerned.

So there is no simple yes or no answer to BenRosa’s question. We have to distinguish between different classes of non-catholics.

 

[atsheeran]

It should be noted that the Canon that I posted is an exception to the following general rule:

Can. 844 §1 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments only to catholic members of Christ’s faithful, who equally may lawfully receive them only from catholic ministers, except as provided in §§2, 3 and 4 of this canon and in can. 861 §2.

These are the other exceptions to this general rule:

Can. 844 §2 Whenever necessity requires or a genuine spiritual advantage commends it, and provided the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, Christ’s faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a catholic minister, may lawfully receive the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick from non-catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.

Can. 844 §4 If there is a danger of death or if, in the judgement of the diocesan Bishop or of the Episcopal Conference, there is some other grave and pressing need, catholic ministers may lawfully administer these same sacraments to other christians not in full communion with the catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who spontaneously ask for them, provided that they demonstrate the catholic faith in respect of these sacraments and are properly disposed.

(note that this one could apply even to Protestants)

AND

Can. 861 §1 The ordinary minister of baptism is a Bishop, a priest or a deacon, without prejudice to the provision of can. 530, n. 1.
§2 If the ordinary minister is absent or impeded, a catechist or some other person deputed to this office by the local Ordinary, may lawfully confer baptism; indeed, in a case of necessity, any person who has the requisite intention may do so. Pastors of souls, especially parish priests, are to be diligent in ensuring that Christ’s faithful are taught the correct way to baptise.

I think that covers it.