Lying in Confession

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Tannhauser

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Okay so it wasn’t an actual lie. I basically got caught off guard and then lied…but not intentionally… And then I felt horrified after and spoke to my priest and explained, and he was really fine with me, and said that I was being silly. My question: do I need to confess this properly?

Please help…
 
Trust what your priest says at all times - unless, of course, he advises you to kill someone in cold blood or something that’s equally obviously flat-out wrong.

If you didn’t do it intentionally it doesn’t need to be confessed. Bottom line.
 
I used to do the same thing. I think you are being scurpulous. Relax, you’re fine. Like the poster above me said, trust your priest.

God Bless.
 
This is a humbling experience and a grace for you that you were able to realize what you were doing and amend it. Thank God for a wise priest. God bless.
 
I had something similar happen to me once when my regular confessor was not available and I had to confess to some “new guy” :o … I inadvertently gave an incorrect answer to one of his questions (I didn’t understand what he asked me), which led him to give me a penance that would have been not possible to fulfill. I was actually so concerned that I would not be able to fulfill the penance (and hence receive true absolution and present myself for communion) that before mass the next morning I hunted the poor priest down, explained what had happened, and begged that he “re-hear” my confession and give me a proper penance to perform.

His answer? No. I was given a penance and tried doubly hard to perform it somehow to the best of my ability given my circumstances (granted, it was impossible, but precisely because it was impossible I put more into meditating on this particular penance than any other). Therefore, I have done all that is required of me by the priest.

I don’t remember any particular penance given to me in my 4-5 years in the Catholic Church other than this one. I hope that your experience affects you similarly and helps you to think more deeply about repentance, confession, and penance.
 
Okay I can understand getting in a fluster and saying the wrong thing by mistake.
However, a lie is a deliberate act. You cannot lie unintentionally.
 
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