Hypothetical situation: Confession

[Corki]

I’m finding this discussion somewhat fascinating. The issue of whether or not technology can be used to communicate during confessions makes me wonder what would happen with a person who is deaf/mute and cannot communicate orally. Are there provisions for hearing confessions from persons with that disability?

Yes, as I understand it, the penitent could chose to write his/her sins, use sign language to confess, or use an interpreter (who is bound by the seal of the Confessional).

 

[Matorin]

Explain why, if he truly repents before God, his repentance before man matters? I’ve been having some problems with NEED for confession, although I feel it is linked to works/thief on the cross type arguments.

 

[Gerhard2]

The Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has ruled that any Confession done over the phone, email, skype, anything of the sort is invalid. Confession must be personal, so a megaphone would be OK, because really a hearing aid is just a little megaphone in a person’s ear. But it is also important to know that while the Confession in the above hypothetical is valid, if a Priest weren’t available and anyone where in danger of death they could make an Act of Contrition and it would count as a sacramental Confession. In this case though if the person lives he must then go and confess those sins that he had before he said the Act of Contrition.

The Act of Contrition is no substitute for sacramental Confession.
secondexodus.com/html/prayers/actofcontrition.htm

“For those who after baptism have fallen into sin, the Sacrament of Penance is as necessary unto salvation as is baptism itself for those who have not yet been regenerated” (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, c. 2)

An act of contrition suffices to obtain forgiveness of venial sin, and the same effect is produced by the worthy reception of sacraments other than penance.
newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm

Of course we know that Jesus is not limited to forgive by the sacraments, and there are plenary indulgences. God bless.

 

[Matorin]

Perhaps I don’t understand why mortal sin cannot be forgiven by God, but only by a priest…of course you will say something like “God is not bound by his sacraments” or point me to a website that describes what a mortal sin is (more likely the CCC actually), but explain where it differentiates between the kind of sin the can be forgiven by man and the kind of sin that can be forgiven by God. From Holy Scripture, if possible. If not, then I suppose I will listen to the words of some ECFs.

 

[gcnuss]

I can’t remember where I read this but I think that if a “translator” whether it be from one language to another or somebody that can do sign language assists with a confession then they are bound by the seal of confession just as much as a priest is bound not to repeat what he hears in the confessional.

If there were only some sort of electronic method available between priest and penitent then that would be fine as long as the confession was taking place as traditionally understood, i.e. either in a confessional or some other private place. The idea behind the Vatican forbidding confessions to be done over the phone or internet isn’t to frustrate the handicapped but to make sure the sanctity and integrity of the sacrament remains at all times.

ChadS

Thanks. With regard to sign language translators, they also have a professional code that forbids them from revealing any communications that they translate.

 

[Brywan]

Perhaps I don’t understand why mortal sin cannot be forgiven by God, but only by a priest…of course you will say something like “God is not bound by his sacraments” or point me to a website that describes what a mortal sin is (more likely the CCC actually), but explain where it differentiates between the kind of sin the can be forgiven by man and the kind of sin that can be forgiven by God. From Holy Scripture, if possible. If not, then I suppose I will listen to the words of some ECFs.

It IS God who forgives the mortal sin. The authority to forgive sins–mortal and venial-- comes from God and God alone. Does it bother you that God has chosen to work through a human instrument (His priest) as a tangible and irrefutable way of dispensing His grace and mercy?

 

[EricFilmer]

Explain why, if he truly repents before God, his repentance before man matters? I’ve been having some problems with NEED for confession, although I feel it is linked to works/thief on the cross type arguments.

Matorin, I understand how strange all this can sound, and we might be getting a little off topic (regarding the original post) but I will try to address your question within these five points:

1. Repentance before a priest during Confession is also repentance before God. The priest is there as the representative of Christ, and it is through the priest that Christ grants absolution. Many people believe in faith healers and the idea that God heals people through these gifted ministers. If God can heal people’s physical wounds through a faith healer then he can likewise heal their spiritual wounds (i.e., absolving sins) through a priest.
2. God works in both ordinary means and extraordinary means. And here, the term “extraordinary” simply means beyond what is usual. In the forgiveness of sins, any sinner can repent directly to God and, if he possesses a contrite heart, God will forgive him. Nevertheless, this is the extraordinary means by which God forgives sins. We know that we can directly ask God for forgiveness, but we don’t know exactly what the process involves. After all, how do we know if we truly have a contrite heart? For example, let us say that I went to a wild party and did all kinds of sinning. The next day I feel sorry for having sinned, and I ask God to forgive me. But deep down I also can’t help but think, “Yeah, I sinned, but boy did I have fun!”
3. The ordinary means by which God forgives sins is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (i.e., going to a priest for Confession). We know the process, and we know what part we are to play. Because it happens in the context of a sacrament, we get special sacramental graces not available to those seeking forgiveness outside of Confession. Among other things, the sacramental graces fill up whatever contrition is lacking in our hearts. As long as we are at least a little sorry for our sins, that suffices to receive absolution. Using my wild party example from above, I do not have to figure out exactly how contrite I am over my sins. As long as I have at least a little regret for having sinned, I can be absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament we also receive grace that helps us in future battles against sin and temptation.
4. In Confession, a priest can help a penitent deal with specific issues and problems, and therefore spiritual direction may occur in addition to having ones sins forgiven.
5. In terms of human nature, it is sometimes very beneficial to actually hear someone tell us that our sins are absolved. A psychologist once remarked to a monk I know, “In the field of psychology, you priests have the best thing going. I have patients constantly tormented over their past who come to me week after week, and all they really need to hear is that they are forgiven. I can’t give them that, but a priest can.”

 

[Corki]

Thanks. With regard to sign language translators, they also have a professional code that forbids them from revealing any communications that they translate.

That is probably true when you are talking about translators “for hire”. In a Confession scenario, the translator could be a friend, a family member, or anyone who happened to know sign language. I took ASL classes, for example, and never learned about a code because we weren’t learning it as a professional skill. Those individuals may or may not be covered by a professonal code but would be subject to the seal of Confession, which is probably a bit more infexible than a professional code.

 

[smad0142]

The Act of Contrition is no substitute for sacramental Confession.
secondexodus.com/html/prayers/actofcontrition.htm

“For those who after baptism have fallen into sin, the Sacrament of Penance is as necessary unto salvation as is baptism itself for those who have not yet been regenerated” (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, c. 2)

An act of contrition suffices to obtain forgiveness of venial sin, and the same effect is produced by the worthy reception of sacraments other than penance.
newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm

Of course we know that Jesus is not limited to forgive by the sacraments, and there are plenary indulgences. God bless.

In my explanation I made sure to note that I mentioned the Act must be made when in danger of death and recourse to a Priest is impossible. Only when these conditions are met would the Act be able to count as a Sacramental Confession. Furthermore this allowance comes with the caveat that if the person lives he must still confess those sins because without the imminent threat of death and realization of that threat the Act does not count as a Sacramental Confession. And what the heck even though I’m at work I will copy and paste this excerpt from the New Advent’s online Catholic Encyclopedia:

Perfect contrition without the sacrament
Regarding that contrition which has for its motive the love of God, the Council of Trent declares: “The Council further teaches that, though contrition may sometimes be made perfect by charity and may reconcile men to God before the actual reception of this sacrament, still the reconciliation is not to be ascribed to the contrition apart from the desire for the sacrament which it includes.” The following proposition (no. 32) taken from Baius was condemned by Gregory XIII: “That charity which is the fullness of the law is not always conjoined with forgiveness of sins.” Perfect contrition, with the desire of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, restores the sinner to grace at once. This is certainly the teaching of the Scholastic doctors (Peter Lombard in P.L., CXCII, 885; St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.; St. Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.). This doctrine they derived from Holy Writ. Scripture certainly ascribes to charity and the love of God the power to take away sin: “He that loveth me shall be loved by My Father”; “Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much”. Since the act of perfect contrition implies necessarily this same love of God, theologians have ascribed to perfect contrition what Scripture teaches belongs to charity. Nor is this strange, for in the Old Covenant there was some way of recovering God’s grace once man had sinned. God wills not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11). This total turning to God corresponds to our idea of perfect contrition; and if under the Old Law love sufficed for the pardon of the sinner, surely the coming of Christ and the institution of the Sacrament of Penance cannot be supposed to have increased the difficulty of obtaining forgiveness. That the earlier Fathers taught the efficacy of sorrow for the remission of sins is very clear (Clement in P.G., I, 341 sqq.; and Hermas in P.G., II, 894 sqq.; Chrysostom in P.G., XLIX, 285 sqq.) and this is particularly noticeable in all the commentaries on Luke 7:47. The Venerable Bede writes (P.L., XCII, 425): “What is love but fire; what is sin but rust? Hence it is said, many sins are forgiven her because she hat loved much, as though to say, she hath burned away entirely the rust of sin, because she is inflamed with the fire of love.” Theologians have inquired with much learning as to the kind of love that justifies with the Sacrament of Penance. All are agreed that pure, or disinterested, love (amor benevolentiæ, amor amicitiæ) suffices; when there is question of interested, or selfish, love (amor concupiscentia) theologians hold that purely selfish love is not sufficient. When on furthermore asks what must be the formal motive in perfect love, there seems to be no real unanimity among the doctors. Some say that where there is perfect love God is loved for His great goodness alone; other, basing their contention on Scripture, think that the love of gratitude (amor gratitudinis) is quite sufficient, because God’s benevolence and love towards men are intimately united, nay, inseparable from His Divine perfections (Hurter, Theol. Dog., Thesis ccxlv, Scholion iii, no 3; Schieler-Heuser, op. cit., pp. 77 sq.).

 

[smad0142]

Perhaps I don’t understand why mortal sin cannot be forgiven by God, but only by a priest…of course you will say something like “God is not bound by his sacraments” or point me to a website that describes what a mortal sin is (more likely the CCC actually), but explain where it differentiates between the kind of sin the can be forgiven by man and the kind of sin that can be forgiven by God. From Holy Scripture, if possible. If not, then I suppose I will listen to the words of some ECFs.

We also know Christ instituted the Sacrament of Confession because he gave the Apostles the authority to forgive sins in the Gospel of John.

John 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”