Does this absolution count?

[Chovy]

I have not attended Reconcilliation for a long time, and made my mind up to go for Advent. Today I did a good examination of conscience and headed off to the communal penance service advertised on a nearby parish’s website.

The service featured a reading, a brief homily, an examination of conscience, and then we were invited to form a line, approach one of two priests and confess **one ** of our sins, standing up, face-to-face on the altar with a line of people behind us.

I struggled all day with the fear of confessing my sins and only got to pick the one I thought was the worst to confess. The Monsignor who heard my sin then gave me a full absolution (he said, "I absolve you of all of your sins, in the name of…), but doled out no penance. There was a brief prayer of thanksgiving once everyone had finished, and then the group left.

Was this a valid sacrament? Does the absolution count?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

The absolution was valid. Such mortal sins are forgiven by that absolution, but must be mentioned in a future Confession as an expression of sorrow and repentance. The practice of people only mentioning one sin is a misuse of the sacrament. Priests do not have the right to limit the sins one confesses. The Church teaches that we are obliged to confess ALL mortal sins.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.