I’m new to the church but I’m already catching on fast to some things that have gone wrong, namely in my first parish. But I want to run these things by you all to see if I’m right.
- The deacon mentioned the universal priesthood and said people can bless things while mentioning that most people just have the priest bless rosaries because of his “authority”.
- The priests have us raise our hands over candidates as a congregation in a priestly gesture to bless the candidates with them.
Can. 1166 Sacramentals are sacred signs by which effects, especially spiritual effects, are signified in some imitation of the sacraments and are obtained through the intercession of the Church.
Can. 1167 §1. The Apostolic See alone can establish new sacramentals, authentically interpret those already received, or abolish or change any of them.
§2. In confecting or administering sacramentals, the rites and formulas approved by the authority of the Church are to be observed carefully.
Can. 1168 The minister of sacramentals is a cleric who has been provided with the requisite power. According to the norm of the liturgical books and to the judgment of the local ordinary lay persons who possess the appropriate qualities can also administer some sacramentals.
Can. 1169 §1. Those marked with the episcopal character and presbyters permitted by law or legitimate grant can perform consecrations and dedications validly.
§2. Any presbyter can impart blessings except those reserved to the Roman Pontiff or bishops.
§3. A deacon can impart only those blessings expressly permitted by law.
Can. 1170 Blessings, which are to be imparted first of all to Catholics, can also be given to catechumens and even to non-Catholics unless there is a prohibition of the Church to the contrary.
Blessings are considered a sacramental. You will note in Can 1169 that bishops, priests, and deacons are specifically mentioned, but the laity are conspicuously absent. There is a reason for this: laity have no spiritual authority over each other.
Father Hardon defined a blessing as follows:
In liturgical language a blessing is a ritual ceremony by which an authorized cleric in major orders sanctifies persons or things to divine service, or invokes divine favor on what he blesses.
This is not to say that a lay person may not wish God to pour His blessings upon another, but a lay person has no authority to
confer that blessing.
Having said that,
Sacrosanctum Concilium (Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) says the following:
79. The sacramentals are to undergo a revision which takes into account the primary principle of enabling the faithful to participate intelligently, actively, and easily; the circumstances of our own days must also be considered. When rituals are revised, as laid down in Art. 63, new sacramentals may also be added as the need for these becomes apparent.
Reserved blessings shall be very few; reservations shall be in favor of bishops or ordinaries.
Let provision be made that some sacramentals, at least in special circumstances and at the discretion of the ordinary,
may be administered by qualified lay persons.
So the point is that I would want to look at the
Book of Blessings to see who is authorized to give a certain blessing in certain circumstances before calling it an abuse. It is,
in all likelihood, an abuse, but I would want to know that on a 100% basis before making an accusation.
- He also tempered my orthodoxy and said that Sola Scriptura is right for Protestants because it’s their tradition, that “it works for them” after I enumerated the doctrinal reasons for leaving Protestantism. I can’t reproduce exact phrasing and context, but it was clear he was leaning on some form of relativism.
Yes, as others have said,
Sola Scriptura is a heresy. Since you are new in the faith, the best thing I can suggest is to continue learning before making any kind of complaint along those lines.
- He also tries to get me to work with the Lutheran pastor who baptized me and has told me that I’m safe from going to Hell now that I’m baptized.
Trinitarian baptisms are perfectly valid.
- The priest said that penance wasn’t a punishment to make up for sins, but that it was only a way to help me be a better Christian. It’s actually both though.
That statement, as reported, is not really 100% wrong. Mostly wrong, but not 100%. Penance is canonically known as “satisfaction” and is an integral part of the sacrament. Suggest you read CCC 1459 and 1460 for more on “satisfaction.”
I think the other complaints have all been addressed.
If there is another, more orthodox parish in your local area, you may wish to start participating there. But otherwise, you really need to study – move beyond the “neophyte” stage – if you wish to suggest corrections.
