Question about Confession

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I was told by a very devout Catholic that when one goes to confession, even if they forgot a sin (no matter how major it was), that sin is forgiven in the confessional when the priest absolves that person of their sins.

I went back to confession for the first time in years a few months back, and I’ve been going regularly since. Today, I randomly remembered a specific type of sin that I had already confessed, but when I confessed it before, I just confessed the general version/type of sin, and not the specific details of the sin (which I think make the sin worse).

Should I confess this sin again, or is it already forgiven?
 
Mortal sins need to be confessed in number and kind (and the circumstance that change the sin like the person you murdered was your brother).

The kind needs to be not general but specific …like “adultery 2x” (not “sin against chastity”)

If one honestly forgets a mortal sin…yes presuming you were sorry for your sins…it was indirectly absolved…but one is obliged to confess it in the next confession (once one remembers…) (this would go too for honestly confessing in a too general way by mistake or not knowing one needed to do otherwise etc…and later realizing this…)

Of course if one intentionally conceals mortal sin…such invalidates the confession and one must confess that one did that…the sin omitted and any other mortal sins confessed and since then…

(those with a difficult with scruples…do not scruple here…but speak rather with your confessor)
 
Konohage said:
I was told by a very devout Catholic that when one goes to confession, even if they forgot a sin (no matter how major it was), that sin is forgiven in the confessional when the priest absolves that person of their sins.
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This is true however if the person remembers the sin, they are bound to confess it.
I went back to confession for the first time in years a few months back, and I’ve been going regularly since. Today, I randomly remembered a specific type of sin that I had already confessed, but when I confessed it before, I just confessed the general version/type of sin, and not the specific details of the sin (which I think make the sin worse).
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Should I confess this sin again, or is it already forgiven?
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When in doubt, confess it. Your confessor should tell you if you are being overscrupulous or not but it’s better to err on the side of scrupulosity than of laxity. The real problem with scrupulosity is that it tends towards despair – viewing God as an exacting tyrant rather than a loving Father.
 
Konohage said:
I was told by a very devout Catholic that when one goes to confession, even if they forgot a sin (no matter how major it was), that sin is forgiven in the confessional when the priest absolves that person of their sins.

I went back to confession for the first time in years a few months back, and I’ve been going regularly since. Today, I randomly remembered a specific type of sin that I had already confessed, but when I confessed it before, I just confessed the general version/type of sin, and not the specific details of the sin (which I think make the sin worse).

Should I confess this sin again, or is it already forgiven?
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If you genuinely forgot a sin, it is forgiven. However, when you go back to Confession, you should bring up that sin. But yes, it is absolved.

Only when someone intentionally tries to hide a sin is it not forgiven, because the Confession will not be valid. In fact, it would be what we call “sacrilege” (abuse of a sacrament or religious practice), and would be another mortal sin that the person would have to confess later when they decide to give a genuine confession.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
 
Bookcat said:
Mortal sins need to be confessed in number and kind (and the circumstance that change the sin like the person you murdered was your brother).

The kind needs to be not general but specific …like “adultery 2x” (not “sin against chastity”)
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I’ve been to Confession a couple of times, and I was never told by my priest to say how many times I committed a mortal sin. I think this is more of a cultural phenomenon rather than one that the Church has definitively said we must do. It would make sense not to say how many times I’ve committed a mortal sin, because there are some mortal sins that can be described as “perpetual” (i.e. not a one-off mortal sin like say, murder) and so it’s easy to forget the number of times they’ve been committed.

Thank you,
**Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk **
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
If you genuinely forgot a sin, it is forgiven. However, when you go back to Confession, you should bring up that sin. But yes, it is absolved.

Only when someone intentionally tries to hide a sin is it not forgiven, because the Confession will not be valid. In fact, it would be what we call “sacrilege” (abuse of a sacrament or religious practice), and would be another mortal sin that the person would have to confess later when they decide to give a genuine confession.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
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Thank you for this.
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
I’ve been to Confession a couple of times, and I was never told by my priest to say how many times I committed a mortal sin. I think this is more of a cultural phenomenon rather than one that the Church has definitively said we must do. It would make sense not to say how many times I’ve committed a mortal sin, because there are some mortal sins that can be described as “perpetual” (i.e. not a one-off mortal sin like say, murder) and so it’s easy to forget the number of times they’ve been committed.

Thank you,
**Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk **
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Actually it is something we are obliged by the Church to do it is not cultural (it is in the code of Canon Law etc…Council of Trent etc…).

It is our responsibility to Confess…the kind and number (of mortal sin)…and if we forget …to mention it in the next confession.

A Priest could ask…this is true…to help the penitent. But if he hears “murder” he is likely to presume it was done once.

We need to do what we can in giving the number…but even after a good examination of ones conscience… sometimes one does not know the number and has to approximate…such as around 3-4 times a month for the last 10 years…or around 3-5 times…or even at times “I do not know …but it was many many times” etc This is especially true in the case of someone returning after some number of years. One is not expected to be Mr. Spock …it was 35.3 times Captain…
 
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