Protestants, can a Catholic Priest forgive sins?

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Ginger - about Protestants receiving the Eucharist.

The Church says that anyone who is not a Catholic (or Orthodox Catholic) cannot receive communion in the Catholic Church and this is for a very good reason.

We believe exactly what Jesus said in John 6. The bread and win become the body and blood - “For my flesh is good indeed and my blood is drink indeed” “unless you receive the flesh of the son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you” Jesus repeated himself about 6 times. The disciples thought that this was weird - drinking his blood and eating his flesh (you must admit this sounds weird - they turned their backs on Jesus and walked away. Jesus didn’t say “Hey guys come back I didn’t mean it like that…” No, he repeated himself… We Catholics believe that we receive the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. Protestants don’t believe that - they think it is a symbol. So nobody who is not in full communion with the Catholic Church can receive the Eucharist. Makes sense doesn’t it.

Then there is another scripture 1 Cor 11:27-30 “…29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgement unto themselves.” Serious stuff.

You should take time to read John 6

Cheers:)
 
Cinette said:
Ginger - about Protestants receiving the Eucharist.

The Church says that anyone who is not a Catholic (or Orthodox Catholic) cannot receive communion in the Catholic Church and this is for a very good reason.
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Right. And, btw, I think you just made some of the Orthodox posters (Mickey for one, I think) very happy, by calling them “Orthodox Catholic”. (They like to call themselves “the Orthodox Catholic Church”, but most Catholics prefer to call them "the Eastern Orthodox Church.) 🙂
Cinette said:
Then there is another scripture 1 Cor 11:27-30 “…29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgement unto themselves.” Serious stuff.
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Right. And in that vein, it’s worth noting that the Catholic Church sometimes makes an exception to the general rule, and allows an Anglican Christian who believes in the Real Presence to receive communion.
 
Well, I’m not sure how how we got on the Eucharist, but the real presence is Biblical.

Can either of you point me to the Scripture that supports the restrictions placed on it by Catholic doctrine?
 
Cinette and Peter J,
Cinette said:
1 Cor 11:27-30 “…29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgment unto themselves.” Serious stuff.

Cheers:)
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Will you expound on what you believe the above verse means? How does the Catholic church define what constitutes being “unworthy”?

Thanks.
 
John 20:23 which states, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

If what the Catholic church teaches is true (i.e., that priests have been given the power to forgive sin), then it must also be true that they have been given the power to REFUSE to forgive your sins. If this is true, then it creates a serious doctrinal contradiction in the teachings of Christ, who said in Matthew 6:15, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Clearly, we have a discrepancy here. If priests did have the power to forgive your sins, and didn’t, it would be a sin. So what did Jesus mean in John 20:23? To understand John 20:23, you need to consider Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” The Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is the POWER which opens the gates of Heaven to those who obey it; BUT, it is also the POWER which will send them to Hell forever if they do not obey it (2nd Thessalonians 1:8). Jesus simply explained to the Apostles that by preaching the GOSPEL, they held the keys to Heaven and Hell. Those who believed the Gospel were forgiven; those who didn’t, weren’t.
 
Ginger2 said:
Cinette and Peter J,

Will you expound on what you believe the above verse means? How does the Catholic church define what constitutes being “unworthy”?

Thanks.
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If you are not in a state of grace for example. If you have committed a mortal sin (serious sin) and not been to confession.

When you approach the altar to receive the Eucharist you have to prepare yourself - you should be in a state of grace.
 
Cinette said:
If you are not in a state of grace for example. If you have committed a mortal sin (serious sin) and not been to confession.

When you approach the altar to receive the Eucharist you have to prepare yourself - you should be in a state of grace.
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It seems to me, if I can trust my memory, we could only take communion within a certain time period of confession. I don’t recall there being anything about what type of sin mortal or venial being on your soul.

I always thought the idea was not to have any sin on your soul. But I guess that doesn’t jive with a time period. 🤷

Is there Scripture to back that up or is it just a Catholic Tradition?
 
Speaking as a Protestant who also believes in the real presence, and for the sake of discussion, I’ll offer the view that the passage refers to recognition of the Real Presence in the Sacrament but also recognizing the Church as the called assembly where Word and Sacrament are properly offered.

My Church (LCMS) limits participation to confirmed members of LCMS congregations arguing that it also means fundamental agreement in all matters of doctrine. I am not entirely sure that I go that far, but I understand the argument and support my church in it.

I’d bet the Catholic view is similar.
 
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm…” -Jeremiah 17:5
“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave the Church the power to forgive sins when he breathed on the Apostles and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.’ (John 20 22:23)”
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The above quote didn’t FULLY quote John 20:23 which states, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” If what the Catholic church teaches is true (i.e., that priests have been given the power to forgive sin), then it must also be true that they have been given the power to REFUSE to forgive your sins. If this is true, then it creates a serious doctrinal contradiction in the teachings of Christ, who said in Matthew 6:15, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Clearly, we have a discrepancy here. If priests did have the power to forgive your sins, and didn’t, it would be a sin. So what did Jesus mean in John 20:23? To understand John 20:23, you need to consider Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” The Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is the POWER which opens the gates of Heaven to those who obey it; BUT, it is also the POWER which will send them to Hell forever if they do not obey it (2nd Thessalonians 1:8). Jesus simply explained to the Apostles that by preaching the GOSPEL, they held the keys to Heaven and Hell. Those who believed the Gospel were forgiven; those who didn’t, weren’t.
 
everybody is getting hung up on the Priest forgiving sins. it is NOT the priest who forgives sin but JESUS who does the forgiving,the Priest is only the vehicle through which Jesus works.
 
Fisher said:
John 20:23 which states, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

If what the Catholic church teaches is true (i.e., that priests have been given the power to forgive sin), then it must also be true that they have been given the power to REFUSE to forgive your sins. If this is true, then it creates a serious doctrinal contradiction in the teachings of Christ, who said in Matthew 6:15, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”.
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Matthew 6:15 does not relate to John 20:23.

Matthew 6:15 is our forgiving our enemies. The other one is the power given to his apostles to forgive and retain sins. Two different things.

Otherwise, the way your reasoning is going, it is not the Church that is making a doctrinal contradiction but Christ himsef. He is the one who said both those lines.
 
Ginger2 said:
Well, I’m not sure how how we got on the Eucharist, but the real presence is Biblical.

Can either of you point me to the Scripture that supports the restrictions placed on it by Catholic doctrine?
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If you’re talking specifically about restrictions on admitting Protestants to communion, the main one has already been said: believing in the real presence. Addition conditions are that the Protestant in question must be in a situation where there is no minister available from his own community, and where there is some kind of “urgent need” to receive the sacrament (i.e. if there is danger of death).

There are, of course, also some conditions for admitting anyone to communion, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. As Cinette said in #187, one needs to be in a “state of grace”.
 
Steadfast said:
Speaking as a Protestant who also believes in the real presence, and for the sake of discussion, I’ll offer the view that the passage refers to recognition of the Real Presence in the Sacrament but also recognizing the Church as the called assembly where Word and Sacrament are properly offered.

My Church (LCMS) limits participation to confirmed members of LCMS congregations arguing that it also means fundamental agreement in all matters of doctrine. I am not entirely sure that I go that far, but I understand the argument and support my church in it.

I’d bet the Catholic view is similar.
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That is correct. One has to be in full communion to receive communion.

And ditto the first paragraph as well
 
celticcrusader said:
everybody is getting hung up on the Priest forgiving sins. it is NOT the priest who forgives sin but JESUS who does the forgiving,the Priest is only the vehicle through which Jesus works.
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You can say that again and again but the point will still be missed. I have made the same point several times as well.
 
Ginger2 said:
It seems to me, if I can trust my memory, we could only take communion within a certain time period of confession. I don’t recall there being anything about what type of sin mortal or venial being on your soul.

I always thought the idea was not to have any sin on your soul. But I guess that doesn’t jive with a time period. 🤷

Is there Scripture to back that up or is it just a Catholic Tradition?
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There was a time before Vatican II when you had to go to Confession before presenting yourself for Confession but it was realised that with regard to venial sins one could just confess in one’s heart.

You know Ginger I think that one can be guided by common sense. We should realise that we need to be pure when we receive Holy Communion. We should be prepared. The scripture passage in Coriantians is pretty clear about that. Read the whole thing and also the passages preceeding and following the verses I quoted.

🙂
 
Boy Ginger2…you are getting beat up and just hanging in there sister!!! lol

Why would you guys on here think she is lying about converting? I happen to know several ex-Catholics or whatever you want to call them that go to my church, which yes is a protestant denomination. So, I am surprised that it is such a surprise to you all here. Just like I am not surprised by the fact that some leave our faith to go Catholic. The fact remains that we are all sinners and come short of the glory of God. In turn, we are then all Christians doing our best to just make it to heaven. Our at least that is my goal.

As far as communion goes. I would say there has been a lot of sinning on here with attitudes. That goes for both sides. As I have said several times in other post. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, but both sides can do it with Christian love and a Christ like attitude. I think if we all read the bible, God first and foremost wants us to love. I have not seen much of that on here. So as far as the protestants go, I think we all need to check our attitude before recieving communion and ask for forgiveness. As far as the Catholics, you better go to confession before you recieve, because there is attitude there also.

Hope I didn’t offend anyone. That was not my goal here. However, it does make me sick to my stomach that we argue about these things. If you are wondering why I am here, I am married to a Catholic.

God Bless You All
 
rolltidefan said:
Boy Ginger2…you are getting beat up and just hanging in there sister!!! lol

Why would you guys on here think she is lying about converting? I happen to know several ex-Catholics or whatever you want to call them that go to my church, which yes is a protestant denomination. So, I am surprised that it is such a surprise to you all here. Just like I am not surprised by the fact that some leave our faith to go Catholic. The fact remains that we are all sinners and come short of the glory of God. In turn, we are then all Christians doing our best to just make it to heaven. Our at least that is my goal.

As far as communion goes. I would say there has been a lot of sinning on here with attitudes. That goes for both sides. As I have said several times in other post. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, but both sides can do it with Christian love and a Christ like attitude. I think if we all read the bible, God first and foremost wants us to love. I have not seen much of that on here. So as far as the protestants go, I think we all need to check our attitude before recieving communion and ask for forgiveness. As far as the Catholics, you better go to confession before you recieve, because there is attitude there also.

Hope I didn’t offend anyone. That was not my goal here. However, it does make me sick to my stomach that we argue about these things. If you are wondering why I am here, I am married to a Catholic.

God Bless You All
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Have you read all the postings on this thread? If you had you would have seen that we bashed each other and then we talked, reasoned, discussed, and I think we pretty much sorted out a lot of things.

You probably started reading and as things heated up you got mad and boom you made your post…without reading further. LOL I do it often.

I get mad and I answer there and then…and then I am sorry. How human can you get!

👍
 
Cinette…Actually I read through ALL 14 pages of this post. I have read some before and got mad, however, I do read all of the posts before posting, even if I am mad! lol

Again, I was just stating how sickening it is from both sides. As I said, I am protestant and that side also does not follow the best attitude about the numerous subjects that is debated here. Anyway, on this subject, mad wouldn’t be the word, just upset at attitudes and thinking that God is probably not very happy with any of us.

God Bless You
 
rolltidefan said:
As far as communion goes. I would say there has been a lot of sinning on here with attitudes. That goes for both sides. As I have said several times in other post. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, but both sides can do it with Christian love and a Christ like attitude. I think if we all read the bible, God first and foremost wants us to love. I have not seen much of that on here. So as far as the protestants go, I think we all need to check our attitude before recieving communion and ask for forgiveness. As far as the Catholics, you better go to confession before you recieve, because there is attitude there also.
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What people are confusing here is that this is a forum on apologetics. As someone else pointed out on another thread, discussions here get heated. Get over it.

That is part and parcel of being in a debate where the topic is religion (that is why most people don’t want to discuss it). Why shouldn’t one side get angry when their Church gets accused of all sorts of calumnies and most of them unfounded.

Someone at work made a really bad joke about the Pope. Now I feel very strongly about the Pope. He is my Holy Father here on earth. So I asked my friend, if I said your mom is a whore would you gently tell me that I am wrong. Of course not she said, I would be angry.

And no we don’t need to go to confession before going to communion for “attitude” in this forum. It is not mortal sin to have attitude. If that were so, hell would be a densely populated place and heaven would be almost empty. It does not mean though that it is not something that we should remember to confess later on because apart from forgiveness, the sacrament gives us the grace to fight the “attitude”.🙂

So there you are.
 
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