May a non-catholic christian confees to a preist?

[ppcbill]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

 

[kmuestwin]

No.You have to be Catholic to receive the sacraments. You must accept all of the Catholic teachings before making a valid confession.

 

[po18guy]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

First: Welcome to the forums. You are blessed to be seeking the truth wherever it may be found. I hope that our fallen human nature does not tread upon you along your journey. As to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there are exceptions to every rule, and you could confess if in grave danger of death. However, kmuestwin is correct in that the Sacraments are normally reserved for those in full communion with the Church.

RCIA is for those inquiring about the faith. It, in no way, obligates you to continue in any way. So, no worries there. However, if you do decide to investigate RCIA, please come here for confirmation of that which you hear. “Some” RCIA programs, however well-intended, may teach error in certain cases. Your participation may actually help clear up a problem or two.

Christ’s peace be always with you.

 

[Corki]

If you decide, as a result of your RCIA journey, to come into the Catholic Church, you will be given the opportunity to make a good Confession prior to your First Communion and Confirmation. So technically, you wouldn’t be Catholic at that moment but it will probably be just a few days before you actually are.

 

[Cat_Herder]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

Well, depending on from which denomination(s) you are coming you may not need to go to confession at all.

If you were validly baptized in a Protestant church then you will go to confession before you receive Confirmation and First Eucharist.

If you were not validly baptized then there is no need for confession first; you will receive Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist all at once.

 

[jmcrae]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

Don’t worry - at some point in your RCIA process, you will have the opportunity to make your First Confession.

As Cat has pointed out, the timing will depend on individual circumstances, but have no worries - if you make a decision to become a Catholic, then the opportunity will be there for you to make a First Confession, after a season of appropriate preparation.

 

[DeanG6]

So for Candidates, first Confession would be only a few days prior to First Communion? Is this typical for all parishes? I was hoping I could start earlier. My First Communion is to be at the Easter Vigil, and I was hoping I could do my First Confession a week or two before Lent.

 

[Cat_Herder]

So for Candidates, first Confession would be only a few days prior to First Communion? Is this typical for all parishes? I was hoping I could start earlier. My First Communion is to be at the Easter Vigil, and I was hoping I could do my First Confession a week or two before Lent.

Well, as a Candidate (i.e. someone who has been baptized) you could theoretically go to confession beforehand, however, you would need to make an arrangement with your pastor.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Well, as a Candidate (i.e. someone who has been baptized) you could theoretically go to confession beforehand, however, you would need to make an arrangement with your pastor.

But, as my husband found out…he can’t receive the full sacrament.

 

[Cat_Herder]

But, as my husband found out…he can’t receive the full sacrament.

Hence the need for the pastor’s okay.

In my RCIA class we had both candidates and catechumens. At least one of the candidates asked for and got permission to go to confession at some time other than the group penance service, IIRC.

 

[jmcrae]

So for Candidates, first Confession would be only a few days prior to First Communion? Is this typical for all parishes? I was hoping I could start earlier. My First Communion is to be at the Easter Vigil, and I was hoping I could do my First Confession a week or two before Lent.

Why a week or two before Lent? You will have permission from your Bishop to go to Confession after the first Sunday in Lent, and that’s when your RCIA team will start preparing you for it.

 

[thistle]

So for Candidates, first Confession would be only a few days prior to First Communion? Is this typical for all parishes? I was hoping I could start earlier. My First Communion is to be at the Easter Vigil, and I was hoping I could do my First Confession a week or two before Lent.

I think my priest wished he had asked for my Confession sooner. I had 44 years of sins to confess! It wasn’t exactly a 15 minutes Confession (mine took more than an hour) and there were 42 people in our RCIA group!

 

[dconklin]

Anyone will may meet with a priest for spiritual guidance - including the discussion of sin, but for some people (uninitiated) it will not be sacramental.

 

[tskrobacz]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

You would be better off making full amends with those you have wronged. The greatest forgiveness comes when you, yourself are a forgiving person and have removed the log from your own eyes. Take care of your side of the street and you will be forgiven. The act of confession simply models how you should always be acting with your neighbor and enemies.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi,
I have been lurking for awhile on this site contemplating convering to Catholicsm. I realize I must go thru the RCIA program first. But prior to becomming a true Catholic may I confess my sins to a preist? If not, why? If so would absolution be given? I hope this is the correct forum to post this type of question.
Thanks for your replies,Bill

The sacraments are normally reserved for Catholics (except baptism obviously). yes, in the course of your preparation for full reception into the Catholic Church you will make a general confession of all sins of your past life, since you must be returned through sacramental absolution to the state of grace you enjoyed at baptism before receiving Confirmation and First Communion. You can do this when you are ready but it will be more fruitful with proper preparation which will be part of RCIA. Yes you can speak to a priest in the confessional and tell him your status and he will take it from there. There are conditions, such as when a Christian has no recourse to ministers of his own faith, in danger of death etc. where he could receive absolution. Speak to your parish priest about RCIA and confession and let him guide you. That would be the pastor of the parish in which you reside or in which you would consider being received.

to correct mis-perceptions in some preceding posts, there is no “magic day” for first confession for RCIA candidates (baptized non-Catholic Christians), nor for their confirmation and first communion for that matter. You are ready when you are ready and you determine that with the help of the RCIA team and the pastor.

the whole topic of sacramental confession is sometimes troubling for non-Catholics and you can search the Liturgy and Sacraments forum for more discussion on the sacrament itself, or the Apologetics form for “why we need to confess to a priest.” You can find more info on RCIA, including some threads from those now in the process or who have completed it, which may be helpful to you, on the Evangelization forum.

welcome Home, and welcome to CAF

 

[Seamus_L]

This question has come up on EWTN and Relevant Radio a number of times, and YES, you can go to Confession if you are a non-Catholic. The big difference is that the priest cannot absolve you of your sins because you are not Catholic. He will still pray for you and offer advice, AND he is under obligation to not repeat to anyone what you tell him in the confessional, just as if you were Catholic.

 

[ppcbill]

Hi, Thanks for all the replies!!! To Puzzleannie yes that is very good advice, The only problem with that is I just became a Christian last year and I am 56 years old. I cant even remember all that I have sinned against and forgivness is very important to me. As per another previous reply I would guess that my first confession would be extremely long and since I have sinned daily for 56 years I could not give a number and type of all sins. Any further advice please?

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi, Thanks for all the replies!!! To Puzzleannie yes that is very good advice, The only problem with that is I just became a Christian last year and I am 56 years old. I cant even remember all that I have sinned against and forgivness is very important to me. As per another previous reply I would guess that my first confession would be extremely long and since I have sinned daily for 56 years I could not give a number and type of all sins. Any further advice please?

that is why we help prepare for confession. Hey at least you can remember your sins, I am to old to even remember if they were any fun when I did them. short form: just go through the 10 commandments with a good guide to examination of conscience and look for the biggies. This preparation could be over the course of several days, during your prayer time. You don’t need to make a list. You just tell the priest it is your first confession, preparatory to entering the Church, and he will guide you from there. You confess what you can remember, sincerely after prayer and consideration, and you are then absolved of all sins of your past life since baptism, including those you forgot. such a deal.

 

[crazzeto]

No.You have to be Catholic to receive the sacraments. You must accept all of the Catholic teachings before making a valid confession.

Eh… Yes and no… The Priest can’t offer aboslution, however the protestant may confess and with regards to the other matters of confession (seal of the confessional et. al.) they will receive the same treatment. True the most important aspect, the point really, the graces of absolution are missing. But perhaps, for some this lesser experience can still be quite beneficial.

I would exhort any protestant seeking this though, to yes please investigate whether you really should be in communion with Holy Mother Church. If you think it’s wonderful being able to talk about your sins with father, think of how much better it would be when the Priest, speaking in the person of Christ, says “I absolve you of your sins”!

 

[jmcrae]

Hi, Thanks for all the replies!!! To Puzzleannie yes that is very good advice, The only problem with that is I just became a Christian last year and I am 56 years old. I cant even remember all that I have sinned against and forgivness is very important to me. As per another previous reply I would guess that my first confession would be extremely long and since I have sinned daily for 56 years I could not give a number and type of all sins. Any further advice please?

You will be instructed in detail, when the time comes - don’t worry about that.

If you can’t remember how many times you did something, you would just say, “daily, for 56 years,” or else, “probably once or twice a week from age eleven to age 24.”