Was my first confession invalid?

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AnxieTea

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I had a confession before my baptism. I didn’t know they could do that but Father said it was ok. I posted on reddit to celebrate and they said it was not right to do that. Is that the case?

I am getting baptized on the 26th this month
 
Baptism is the gateway to all other sacraments. So, no, that was not sacramental confession.

I don’t know what your priest was doing unless he was having you practice for what confession will be like after baptism. But it should have been made clear that it was NOT confession.

When you receive baptism later this month, it remits ALL sin, original and actual. So when you do begin going to confession after baptism, you would only confess sins committed after baptism.
 
Anesti33 said:
If your priest said it was okay, then who am I to judge?
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Please don’t misuse the word “judge”.

We should not judge motives, internal disposition, culpability, etc.

People are perfectly able to evaluate something someone says, even a priest, against objective facts and correct misinformation and mistakes.
 
How many objective facts?
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How many do you need?
The say-so of a zero-reputation forum account in two sentences?
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I am not understanding what you are meaning?
And we presume to know more than her pastor? Wow.
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What facts are presented that knows what the pastor knows?
 
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Anesti33 said:
People are perfectly able to evaluate something someone says, even a priest, against objective facts and correct misinformation and mistakes.
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Alright thank you! I can’t wait to be baptized!
 
Anesti33 said:
How many objective facts?
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That baptism is the gateway to the rest of the Sacraments, for starters. According to canon law:

https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html
“Can. 842 §1. A person who has not received baptism cannot be admitted validly to the other sacraments.”
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The placement of a baptismal font near the entrance of the church is not coincidental. It symbolizes the very real fact that baptism is the gateway to the other Sacraments: to get into the church for Mass, confession, etc., i.e, the other Sacraments, we pass by the place where our Christian lives began. We go in through baptism.
 
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We should take people at their word, unless there’s some reason not to.

The OP is not baptized yet. No baptism, no valid confession, and no need for confession initially since baptism remits original sin. That’s what this is about.

Priests get things wrong. Priests even get the administration of the Sacraments wrong. It’s an unfortunate reality. But it happens.

-Fr ACEGC
 
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AnxieTea said:
I had a confession before my baptism. I didn’t know they could do that but Father said it was ok. I posted on reddit to celebrate and they said it was not right to do that. Is that the case?

I am getting baptized on the 26th this month
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Once you are baptized you can validly have Confession. Baptism removes both venial and mortal sins. It is not necessary to Confess mortal sins committed before baptism, but you are permitted to mention them in Confession if you prefer to do that.

I am sorry this happened to you.

Peace.
 
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Didn’t Peter say repent and be baptized, if you are going to do both, why does one being done before the other negate what was done? You have to do both.
 
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Repentance is interior and occurs prior to Confession or Baptism. It is the work of God and the person responding to that grace with a yes.
 
One can certainly be repentant before being baptized… One could even confess sins - even to a priest, in a confessional… but there is no sacramental absolution, until the person is baptized.

Distinctions…
 
Baptized non-Catholics converting to Catholicism would do Confession before being Confirmed and receiving First Communion at Easter. Non-baptized converts wouldn’t have their first sacramental confession until after Baptism.
 
It just seems hypocritical that we should often exhort people to refer to their pastor or confessor and obey his guidance, especially for scrupulous people or those who doubt the sacraments. But then we turn around and jump all over a priest’s guidance when the reported details seem wrong. We can’t have it both ways?
 
Anesti33 said:
It just seems hypocritical that we should often exhort people to refer to their pastor or confessor and obey his guidance, especially for scrupulous people or those who doubt the sacraments. But then we turn around and jump all over a priest’s guidance when the reported details seem wrong. We can’t have it both ways?
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Sure we can. Some things are prudential. Some things are a clear yes/no but personal guidance would be very beneficial. Some things are simply a clear yes/no.

A person can’t validly celebrate Confession prior to Baptism.
 
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Anesti33 said:
But then we turn around and jump all over a priest’s guidance when the reported details seem wrong.
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What seems wrong to you about the priest’s guidance? This is pretty straightforward.
 
edward_george1 said:
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Anesti33:
But then we turn around and jump all over a priest’s guidance when the reported details seem wrong.
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What seems wrong to you about the priest’s guidance? This is pretty straightforward.
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Everyone in this thread–including you–think the priest’s guidance was wrong.
 
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