Confession

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twiztedseraph

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My priest gave me absoloution the usual thing “God the Father of mercies…” but changed (unintentionally as he is from an islander background) the crucial “I absolve you…” to “I take away your sin…” Any thoughts on validity? I’ve approached him about it before and he seems to try his best, I just don’t want to offend him.
 
Since “absolve” means “take away” I don’t see an issue as long as it was an accidental change. While “form” is important, we have to recognize that the form is defined in Latin, and translations may vary.

Deacon Ed
 
Yes, but the specific form for English has been promulgated by the pope, and it cannot be changed even if it “means” the same thing. The Dictionary.com definition of absolve says:
  1. To pronounce clear of guilt or blame.
  2. To relieve of a requirement or obligation.
That is entirely different in meaning from “take away.”

1: remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state; transport into a new location or state.

So we can see that in taking something away, they are being transported, which is not the case with absolving.

I would not take a chance, so I would not keep going back to that priest. This is your eternal salvation, not some interpretation of what we think could possibly be a valid form of the sacrament.

It is like saying the priest during the consecration of the host says “this is my flesh,” it would invalidate the consecration, therefore nullifying the sacrament.

It may seem a bit superfluous, but I think it is important not to take any chances with something as important as confession.
 
Yeah, I double checked with my spiritual director, he said that “yes, it is invalid.”

Pax Christi
 
I asked anotha priest, he said i could get away with it, and aslong as I did it in good faith not to worry…
 
I wouldn’t care usualy and just re-confess, just the thought of all those poor people who are denied sanctifying grace because this guy grew up in another country. Which is why we need to go back to Latin. I’m gonna ask the Priest at mass tonight what I should do.
 
Get away with what? Not being forgiven because the priest doesn’t want to use the correct form?

You don’t need to ask another priest my friend, just find a priest who says the correct form and go to him for confession. It’s really not a big deal, just don’t go to an invalid confession. It is invalid.

Pax Christi
 
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