Priest said "Jesus absolves you" instead of "I absolve you"

[pcg2]

That would not have any bearing on the sacrament. I go to confession using the screen. I do not expect the priest to somehow overcome the barrier of either solid wood or concrete to try and touch my head.

Overnight, I rethought my last response to you. If all the priest said was “Jesus absolves you”, there might be some problems with the formula because even that was abreviated. Go with your gut and go to confession again (if you committed a mortal sin, but, from the looks of it, that seems to not be the case with you). I will ask a priest friend of mine about this when he comes back from vacation.

Oh, I didn’t mean physically touching you. I meant him just simply laying his hand out in some way in your general direction – like when a priest gives a blessing… this could be done whether there was a screen there or not…

 

[pcg2]

That would not have any bearing on the sacrament. I go to confession using the screen. I do not expect the priest to somehow overcome the barrier of either solid wood or concrete to try and touch my head.

Overnight, I rethought my last response to you. If all the priest said was “Jesus absolves you”, there might be some problems with the formula because even that was abreviated. Go with your gut and go to confession again (if you committed a mortal sin, but, from the looks of it, that seems to not be the case with you). I will ask a priest friend of mine about this when he comes back from vacation.

I forgot to mention in my last post, that the priest didn’t just say “Jesus absolves you.” He said the whole regular absolution formula, but instead substituted the “I absolve you” part with the “Jesus absolves you” part.

 

[JimG]

I don’t know if it is valid or not. If he did not use the correct form, it is certainly an illicit change.

What concerns me more is why the priest made this change. Perhaps this priest has doubts about the power of the sacrament itself, or the power conferred to him in receiving the priesthood.

Jesus gave his Apostles the power to forgive sins, telling them “Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained,” a power which has been passed on through the conferring of the sacrament of Holy Orders. I hope the change of wording is not an indication of lack of faith.