Confiteor question

[Karen10]

As I read through some things about confiteor, I saw that one person stated that at the end of confiteor, the priest makes a sign of the cross to absolve the congregation’s sins. Do I have this right–that their sins were absolved as if they’d gone to confession? Does this mean that someone who’d been in the state of mortal sin prior to confiteor is now in a state of grace, and able to receive Communion? In my understanding, this is only permissible in grave circumstances, such as for example, a battlefield, prior to battle. Can someone please elaborate? Thanks.

 

[Affirmed]

Venial sins are forgiven in the Penitential Rite at Mass. Howevr mortal sins must be absolved in sacramental confession. A priests can give general absoltion which would apply to more than one person, but there must be a serious reason for doing so. Ie, a plane is about to crash and there is a priest on board with 10 people.

 

[mosher]

The understanding given in the liturgical documents is that the abolustion in the Confiteor does not have the same efficacy as that of abolution given in the Sacrament of Penance (aslo called Confession or Reconcilliation). This is why the absolution rite in the Confiteor that is found in the Tridentine Rite was removed in the Novus Ordo so that the people would not be confused on this point. The previous poster is exactly correct when he stated that it is only the remission of venial sin that is effected in the Confiteor in either rite of mass.

 

[Affirmed]

She.