Is it inconsiderate to ask a priest to hear confession after mass?

[Eric_Olsen]

It is a church run by the brothers of mercy in overbrook philadelphia. The priest I asked was a guest priest. I asked one of the other friars and he went in the sacristy and asked one to come out.

Just curious, but did you have to find another priest or did the first priest find someone for you?

 

[JesuitLoyola]

With my priest the best idea is to go to an earlier mass in the day then the one you would normally attend and try and catch father afterwards. He seems to be much more relaxed about giving a confession after a mass rather than before another one, especially since he has stuff to do because he is the one giving the mass Not to mention this saves him from having to wait in the front of the church for 45 minutes afterwards while everyone comes up and greets him. Just kidding, but I always wondered if thats what he thought…

 

[pnewton]

It is a church run by the brothers of mercy in overbrook philadelphia. The priest I asked was a guest priest. I asked one of the other friars and he went in the sacristy and asked one to come out.

That raises another possibility. If he was a guest priest from another diocese, then he would not have faculties to hear confession, unless he had received special permission from the bishop. Still, it would not have been a hardship to refer you to one of the friars himself.

 

[mercygate]

That raises another possibility. If he was a guest priest from another diocese, then he would not have faculties to hear confession, unless he had received special permission from the bishop.

You beat me to it.

 

[Eric_Olsen]

That raises another possibility. If he was a guest priest from another diocese, then he would not have faculties to hear confession, unless he had received special permission from the bishop. Still, it would not have been a hardship to refer you to one of the friars himself.

unlikely. I asked that question about confession and faculties and the monsignor at the parish I go to mass at said, awhile ago the USSCB gave blanket faculties to priests in the united states to hear confession in any diocese. I guess it really doesn’t matter. One of the friars came out and heard my confession.

 

[juliamajor]

It would inconsiderate for him to deny you confession.Father Groeschel calls the priest"the poor man’s psychiatrist".If you are in crisis or need or just to help improve your soul . his job is to act in God’s place.Rejection or rudeness should not be in his vocabulary- human or not his behavior reflects the priesthood, the Church and God. Many a fallen away Catholic has retreated because of unChristlike behavior.Christ washed the feet of the disciples-not the other way around-serving is his job and his vocation. If he doesn’t reflect Christ’s willingness to forgive and doesn’t ‘live’ his calling then he is just an ‘ecclesiastic mechanic’

 

[pnewton]

unlikely. I asked that question about confession and faculties and the monsignor at the parish I go to mass at said, awhile ago the USSCB gave blanket faculties to priests in the united states to hear confession in any diocese. I guess it really doesn’t matter. One of the friars came out and heard my confession.

Really? Why don’t you submit that one to AAA. I believe that the USCCB doesn’t have the authority to grant faculties. I believe it must be the bishop. In the meantime, I will search and see if I can find it somewhere.

Okay, I found one:

CCC
Para. 1462: Forgiveness of sins brings reconciliation with God, but also with the Church. Since ancient times the bishop, visible head of a particular Church, has thus rightfully been considered to be the one who principally has the power and ministry of reconciliation: he is the moderator of the penintential disciple (Cf. LG 26 § 3). Priests, his collaborators, exercise it to the extent that they have received the commission either from their bishop (or religious superior) or** the Pope**, according to the law of the Church

Regional councils have little canonical authority.

 

[Al_Masetti]

Sometimes I ask, “Do you have a couple of minutes to hear my confession … nothing dramatic.”

That way it gives the priest an “out” in case he has to prepare for the next Mass or something similar. And it also alerts him that I won’t be dumping 30 years worth of stuff on him.

In other situations, I have seen priests really overextend themselves to help folks by hearing confessions at odd opportunities.

Funny story. I got volunteered to do the readings at a weekday Mass. After Mass, the priest did the usual recess (or what ever it’s called) to the rear of the church. Immediately, he got “jumped” by several people who wanted to go to confession. And they lined up. But the priest was supposed to do the Stations of the Cross. He looked at me and immediately began hearing confessions. So you know what his priorities were. A couple of Mass attendees said to me, “Al, you have to do the Stations of the Cross.”

They gave me the “script” and that’s what I did.

Afterwards they all thanked me.

The priest was still busy hearing confessions.

What a hoot!

 

[EasterJoy]

unlikely. I asked that question about confession and faculties and the monsignor at the parish I go to mass at said, awhile ago the USSCB gave blanket faculties to priests in the united states to hear confession in any diocese. I guess it really doesn’t matter. One of the friars came out and heard my confession.

With the recent rules put in to protect children from abuse, it is my guess that nobody officially gets faculties in any diocese any more unless their background has been recently cleared with the local chancery office. That’s not a bad thing, far from it, but it is a new world.