Liberal or Legitimate Advice from Priests

  • Thread starter Thread starter wsoxfan7
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
W

wsoxfan7

Guest
I try to attend the Sacrament of Confession at least monthly due an addictive mortal sin of mine. One of the priests I confessed to said that I should wean off the sin as opposed to quitting cold turkey. Another priest has said that I should not refrain from the Eucharist since Jesus in the Eucharist can be used as a strength to help fight my addiction. At the time of hearing each of their advice, I simply rejected their advice as too liberal and going against Catholic Doctrine. However, I am beginning to reconsider their advice as legitimate since my culpability is reduced. Would their advice be too liberal or is their advice doctrinally sound?

Thanks for any and all help!
 
If you did what they said without knowing the seriousness of what they are telling you to do then your culpability would be lessened. However, receiving Christ in the Eucharist with a mortal sin on your soul would be adding sin upon sin. With all due respect for the good Father who told you that, that is a horrible idea.

As for weaning one’s self off of a particular sin, that would all depend on what the priest meant by “wean.”
 
Weaning off is not effective.

Unless we are talking regulated intake from methodone clinic or something, it isn’t effective.

It isn’t. Neither is “cold turkey,” if by cold turkey you mean, “just stopping and not implementing strategies.”

I am assuming this is masturbation or pornography or something. NoFap might be a good place to pick up some resources on quitting, and Covenant Eyes is certainly a great tool as well.
 
wsoxfan7 said:
Would their advice be too liberal or is their advice doctrinally sound?
Click to expand...
Off topic , but I don’t like the use of the adjective “liberal” in this context .

It is used to label people in a lazy way .

It belongs to politics and should remain there .

As for your question , do what your confessors tell you .

We on this forum cannot take the place of your priests in the confessional .
 
I would follow up with your pastor and ask how/why is counsel does not contradict Catholics not being permitted to receive when not in a state of grace. His advice doesn’t make sense, perhaps you misunderstood?
 
We all sin but perhaps your priest is at his wit end on how to advise you with your habitual sin.

Maybe the reading about cutting off the hands, plucking off the eyes, which cause you to sin, should be reflected deeper on.
 
Last edited:
I never understand why someone will trust a priest to hear their confession then question his advice among strangers online.

Find a priest you trust and confess to him regularly. Follow his advice.
 
You should listen to your confessor and follow his instructions. If he is in error it is on him and not you. The church was given the power to forgive sins. Now, the issue is did you commit a mortal sin?
From the advice the priest gave you, I think he did not think so. It is difficult to commit a mortal sin!
You have to really want to do it and cut yourself from God’s grace. I don’t think you really wanted to do that.
 
Theo2 said:
You should listen to your confessor and follow his instructions. If he is in error it is on him and not you. The church was given the power to forgive sins. Now, the issue is did you commit a mortal sin?
From the advice the priest gave you, I think he did not think so. It is difficult to commit a mortal sin!
You have to really want to do it and cut yourself from God’s grace. I don’t think you really wanted to do that.
Click to expand...
This is good advice for the spiritual side of things. OP, don’t overlook the importance of getting some mental health therapy to help you with your addiction struggles. Most priests aren’t trained as mental health therapists, espeially with significant therapy training for addictions. I hope you are open to seeking counseling, as well as spiritual guidance.
 
Last edited:
There really isn’t enough information here. We have no idea what kind of sin this is. If it is drug addiction, then the advice seems legit.

If sin is murder or adultery, then no, this advice is terrible.

The fact is, no one here can give you advice based on what you have said.
 
If you went to Confession each week and went to Mass Saturday evening or avoided the sin overnight, you could receive the Eucharist with no worries.

And additionally, I progressed spiritually more than 4 times faster when I was able to confess every week to the same priest, so more frequent confession, which also confers grace, might help you in addition to receiving the Eucharist.
 
Last edited:
I would have to disagree. If a penitent does something he knows to be wrong I would imagine, there is still culpability. A priest who died, had a near death experience, and came back stated to a similar question “it depends on how much the penitent knows.” This was Fr. Steven Scheir. I would have to look up the reference. Addiction MIGHT affect this but I would dig deeper.
 
Last edited:
I agree, generally, with the advice already given to trust your confessor, but at the same time I must ask:

You go to confession only once a month for a habitual sin (or, if you’d prefer, a sin attenuated by addiction) and your confessor told you to wean yourself off the sin and present yourself for communion rather than increase the frequency you go to confession? If Confession is available at least weekly I’d think the first step is to avail yourself of the graces of that Sacrament more before moving on to The Sacrament.

Go to confession every single day if need be (and if possible).
 
wsoxfan7 said:
Would their advice be too liberal or is their advice doctrinally sound?
Click to expand...
It’s doctrinally sound, as you appear to be unbalanced. That, and your addiction to mortal sins, reduce your culpability to the point that those sins are no longer mortal sins which require confession, but they are simply a grave nuisance that may require some effort on your part to remedy.

I’m not sure what this mortal sin of yours is that you’re addicted to. Perhaps it’s shooting heroine, frequenting the street corner girls, gambling away your family’s finances, or a violent serial crime. Whatever it is, I would follow your confessor’s guidance to wean yourself off of it.
 
Last edited:
Rob2 said:
Off topic , but I don’t like the use of the adjective “liberal” in this context .

It is used to label people in a lazy way .
Click to expand...
Agreed. Also keep in mind that “liberal” isn’t necessarily the opposite of “legitimate.” Things just aren’t that black and white. Christ went “liberal” compared to others of his time, such as stopping the stoning of a woman.

But I’m not here to pick a beef with the OP, who is clearly suffering for legitimate reasons. I would agree that a priest knows better than @wsoxfan7 as to what is in line with Catholic doctrine. It would be inappropriate to go “priest shopping” until hearing the advice that s/he wants to hear.

OP, are you seeking outside help for the addiction, like therapy, treatment, AA, etc.? As to whether or not you’re in a state of mortal sin, you can’t consent fully to a sin if your mind is in the physiologically altered state of addiction. I’m not clergy, so consult with your priest for further information.
 
Mate I would say I remember being in that place a while back and keep persevering through. It was hard at first but I am soooooo glad I did and now am much more at peace, and my life is much more fulfilled, praise God!
 
Porn/Masturbation can be addicting. If it is some other addiction, weaning off might be acceptable, but not knowing you, the sin or the circumstances, it is impossible to make a judgment here. You know it is sin. You are called to struggle against it with all of your strength. Repentance does not mean “think about reforming your life” or “change your life by degree” - it means to turn from something. Follow the advice you are given, bearing in mind that nothing prevents you from taking more drastic action on your own, and by God’s grace.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top