I absolve you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, valid?

[Digitonomy]

thistle:

Digitonomy:

Is it possible for the confessor to make the original absolution conditional?

No. You are either absolved or you are not.
Absolution is not conditional upon a penance being done.

What about a situation such as I described a while back, where an “instant” absolution was given due to lack of time by a priest who knew one of my friends well, but my friend was told to return the following day for his confession to actually be heard?

The whole thing seems illicit, but it seemed to me that the absolution, if valid, was conditional upon the confession being heard the next day.

 

[thistle]

Digitonomy:

What about a situation such as I described a while back, where an “instant” absolution was given due to lack of time by a priest who knew one of my friends well, but my friend was told to return the following day for his confession to actually be heard?

The whole thing seems illicit, but it seemed to me that the absolution, if valid, was conditional upon the confession being heard the next day.

You would have to ask a priest about any odd situation. What you describe doesn’t sound right to me.

Unless someone is on the point of death and unable to actually confess (in a serious accident, or in a coma, or too weak to talk, for example) how can they be given absolution without confessing?
If a plane is going to crash and a priest is on board he can stand up and give general absolution because there is no time to hear any confessions.
Apart from near to death situations like that I do not believe there is no time for a confession. People know when Mass takes place and that they must be in a state of grace before receiving so a normal healthy person should always have “time” to confess. They should not expect to rush to Mass and a few seconds before the priest is to start Mass to make a confession.
Jesus warned us that we should always be ready because we don’t know the time and the hour.

 

[Digitonomy]

thistle:

Unless someone is on the point of death and unable to actually confess (in a serious accident, or in a coma, or too weak to talk, for example) how can they be given absolution without confessing?

That was why I suggested his absolution might be conditional, or perhaps the confession was simply incomplete until the next day.

thistle:

Apart from near to death situations like that I do not believe there is no time for a confession.

This may be, but my friend is not the type to quarrel with a priest on the finer points of canon law, especially when the priest is in a hurry to get somewhere else.