Confession

[mercygate]

Sir Knight:

As I said, I was sitting down with the nun when he suddenly burst into the room looking for a map. It turned out that somebody was gravely ill and he had to give them the last rites. His other duties and meetings were instantly placed on hold as he drove off leaving everyone to re-schedule so that he could perform the more important task.

Now THAT’s a PRIEST!

 

[IrenkaJMJ]

rjmporter:

I appreciate that “telephone confession” would not be the normative means but let me give you a real life scenerio.

My grandmother is 92 years old, unable to get to the church and in a hospital where the local deacon visits once a week. On September 3 of this year the doctors informed us that after her most recent heart attack the next one was probably hours away and would end her life. My Grandma greatly desired to receive sacramental absolution before this eventuallity, but we were informed by her parish priest that there was no way he could come to the hospital. He’s not a bad priest, just very busy. If he was able to hear her confession over the phone, she would have had the opportunity to confess.

Praise God, the doctors were wrong, Father was able to make it to the hospital and hear her confession within the next two days and she is still hanging on, at home now. In the mean time, she worried for two days about dying without recours to sacramental confession.

Just a personal experience that makes me wonder about the policy. I don’t want to confess over the phone. I don’t think it would “feel real”, but I would trust it if the chruch permitted it.

Ross

I know people prefer their parish priest, but in this situation, couldn’t another priest have been called?

 

[puzzleannie]

IrenkaJMJ:

I know people prefer their parish priest, but in this situation, couldn’t another priest have been called?

You could try it but it wouldn’t get you very far where I live. It is the pastor’s duty to provide care for souls under his care, including all the sacraments. His primary duty. If he believed in the efficacy and need for the sacraments, no priest could possibly justify denying them to one of his parishioners.