Hypothetical Question About Confession

[Kyle2253]

I’d love to hear what others think of this hypothetical situation. What would happen if you go to receive the sacrament of confession to confess your sins and for some reason the priest did not absolve you of your sins (assuming this is a sin that is normally “forgivable”)? Would you be free to seek out absolution from another priest?

 

[BartholomewB]

There was a thread about this just a few days ago. And it wasn’t a hypothetical question : it was something that actually happened.

Priest told me that he didn't think I was sufficiently repentant Liturgy and Sacraments

I went to confession today for the third time in three weeks, which is how long I’ve been back with the church after a long gap. After I confessed, the priest told me it didn’t seem like I was making enough of an effort to amend my life because I kept coming back so often. He said he wasn’t sure if he should absolve me if I wasn’t taking the sacrament seriously, although he did eventually absolve me after I insisted that I understand the sacrament and that I had repented. I’m honestly really sh…

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It depends.
If Priest A refused to absolve you because you genuinely weren’t repentant of your sin, like you told him you planned to keep right on committing whatever sin you just confessed, then it’s pointless to go “priest shopping” trying to get one to absolve you. They’ll all say the same thing as Priest A, unless you lie to one of them or unless you find a priest who ignores church teaching.

Likewise, if you’re scrupulous and you go to Priest A regularly and for some reason he decides not to absolve you, or you start worrying he didn’t absolve you right because your scruples are interfering with your thoughts, then you shouldn’t go to another priest.

However, if Priest A didn’t absolve you because he misunderstood what you said, or got sick and passed out before he reached the point of giving absolution, or seemed confused and said the Memorare instead of the words of absolution, then it would be reasonable for you to go to another priest.

 

[catholic03]

Are you thinking of a priest refusing to absolve you from something the Church condemns?

I can imagine in rare cases that a priest might refuse to absolve someone from something that the Church clearly teaches is a sin (such as sinful sexual acts). In this case, the person would be obliged to seek out another priest.

However, reporting the priest might be hard as he would presumably be forbidden from talking about your confession and wouldn’t be able to provide information.

 

[Vico]

I’d love to hear what others think of this hypothetical situation. What would happen if you go to receive the sacrament of confession to confess your sins and for some reason the priest did not absolve you of your sins (assuming this is a sin that is normally “forgivable”)? Would you be free to seek out absolution from another priest?

Yes, a person can confess to another priest. Even if absolution is given by a priest, if the proper disposition is not present, then sanctifying grace is not actually restored.

 

[Canvas]

What would happen if you go to receive the sacrament of confession to confess your sins and for some reason the priest did not absolve you of your sins (

It would really depend on why. @Tis_Bearself mentioned scrupulosity.

Example: If this was your regular confessor, and you suffer from bad scruples and he said you had to wait at least two weeks before your next confession and you came to him in a panic after only a few days with what he determined was not really a sin or only a venial sin at worst and he tells you to not worry about it and to continue to Recieve Communion and wait at least two weeks before coming back, then I can understand why. In a case like that you should listen and obey and not speak to another Priest.

 

[po18guy]

You would be free to ask the priest why you did not receive absolution. Ultimately, you are not disagreeing with the priest, but with Christ.

Something to ponder.

 

[InThePew]

. What would happen if you go to receive the sacrament of confession to confess your sins and for some reason the priest did not absolve you of your sins (assuming this is a sin that is normally “forgivable”)? Would you be free to seek out absolution from another priest?

All sins are forgivable however you should tell the second priest that you had already attempted to confess and why you weren’t absolved.

 

[FiveLinden]

Example: If this was your regular confessor, and you suffer from bad scruples and he said you had to wait at least two weeks before your next confession and you came to him in a panic after only a few days with what he determined was not really a sin or only a venial sin at worst and he tells you to not worry about it and to continue to Recieve Communion and wait at least two weeks before coming back, then I can understand why. In a case like that you should listen and obey and not speak to another Priest.

This would seem to me to be a good example of a priest refusing to use confession in an attempt to ‘treat’ a psychological disorder, just as I assume a priest would do if a delusional person confessed to having stolen the statue of liberty. As an outsider it seems to me that this is absolutely best practice and helps direct the person with the disorder to someone who can help. I assume a priest could give absolution but say it was given in general terms and not for a delusional experience misinterpreted as ‘sin’.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Priests generally will not give you absolution unless you confess at least one genuine sin. It can be a venial sin, but if you only mention things in the confessional that are not sins or that the priest knows are delusions, he cannot give you absolution. So the person who said they stole the Statue of Liberty would also have to confess something like getting impatient with another driver in traffic, or yelling at their spouse, or some other actual sin, in order to get absolution.

 

[FiveLinden]

Thank you. Interesting.