What to do when priests disagree in the confessional?

[itsjustdave1988]

…My question is – how does one deal with this in GENERAL when priests disagree and other sources are unclear?

Our magisterium is a living magisterium, which comes with teh benefit of two-way communication. I think you should seek the teaching of your bishop directly. The priest’s confessional authority is given to him by the bishop and should only be exercised within the scope of authority given to him by the bishop. In other words, your pastoral “chain of command” is your parish pastor, your diocesan bishop, and your Roman Pontiff. These are the pastors of your soul which you are obliged to submit to (cf. Heb 13:17). If what the priest says in the confessional is contrary to the teaching of these three men, then I would avoid the teaching of such priests in the future. If you are still concerned about the teaching given to you by your bishop, then you are free to seek the council of the Holy See. To do so, I would follow the following protocol: cuf.org/faithfacts/protocol.asp

I for one believe it to be a grave sin to deliberately refuse to do the penance prescribed by the Church. If Friday penance is prescribed (not simply suggested), then it would be a grave sin to deliberately refuse to accomplish such penance.

Penance are “deeds worthy of repentance” and it is prescribed by the NT. “They should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.” (Acts 26:20)

 

[LilyM]

Hello Sir Knight

Boy, it is confusing. And sad. Think about it, in the overall scheme of things there really are more important things than meat or not on Friday. If the Church leadership was really on the ball, this would not be a confusing issue, and it sure is. In fact, eating meat on Friday, or not, is a mortal sin maybe in one or two people since there was God, or people. It for darn sure isn’t a moral law. And why are we mourning as a Church anyway, Jesus did rise you know. We should be a Church of the party. Don’t people throw a party when they are rejoicing?

Mourn if you want to, I choose to rejoice.

We do rejoice - that’s what Sundays, Easter, Christmas etc etc are all for!

But first we must, as Paul says, preach Christ and Him crucified, not just Him risen - because there ain’t no Easter Sunday without a Good Friday first.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Mourn if you want to, I choose to rejoice.

What saint was it that said that the sorrowful mysteries of earth must come before the glorious mysteries of heaven?

 

[Sir_Knight]

The poster who told you to say your rosary in the morning has the right idea. Outside of Lent, you no longer have to abstain from meat on Firdays. Pick something that you can stick with each week (the same thing), make a time for it in your schedule, and you are set. And just like during Lent, your penance can be something you take up rather than something you give up. So a Friday morning rosary would be the perfect thing.

I also fully agree with those who say to pick one confessor and stick with him. Especially since you seem to tend toward scrupulosity, it is probably best for your to be under obedience. this would also include the frequency of your confessions. Call you pastor or another priest and ask them to set up a scheduled time with you for confession and direction.

Thank you

 

[lak611]

Another idea would be to pray the Rosary in the car. You could turn off the radio and pray while you are waiting in traffic. If you arrive at your destination, you can always finish later. Maybe you could say 1-2 decades during your commute to work, 1-2 during your commute home, and then finish at home.

 

[rayne89]

Wendy’s has a fish sandwich as does Burger King, McD’s, Arby’s, at KFC you could have some biscuits and potatoe wedges which are portable. Most fast food have things that are portable other than meat. Fries at the very least -not that healthy but neither is a burger really. Tim Hortons, Dunkin Donuts have muffins. Keep some granola bars in the car for emergencies to tied you over. Over the years I’ve given up meat for the entire period of lent and have always managed to find something to eat.

For you actual question you do need a regular confessor. It’s fine to go to others in a pinch but you still follow the advice of the regular confessor/spiritual director. You ask a question and then give all kinds of reasons you can’t do what people advise you to do. You can pick an entirely different penance if going without meat doesn’t work for you even if it is for just a particular Friday -any number of things -sleep on the floor, pray the rosary -in fact asking your regular confessor what types penances he recommends is a good way to go -what is a penance for one person may not be difficult for another so it’s hard to recommend a penance to a stranger.

 

[Pug]

While in my particular case, this deals with a SPECIFIC sin. My question is – how does one deal with this in GENERAL when priests disagree and other sources are unclear?

We are bound to obey positive law. We are not bound to obey every possible thing we can dream up that might be a law. We’d go insane otherwise. Of course, a reasonable effort must be made to find out what laws are out there.

You might want to look up the concept of probabilism, a type of moral system designed to cover situations involving doubts of law like yours.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Another idea would be to pray the Rosary in the car. You could turn off the radio and pray while you are waiting in traffic. If you arrive at your destination, you can always finish later. Maybe you could say 1-2 decades during your commute to work, 1-2 during your commute home, and then finish at home.

I tyhink EWTN, and probably others, has the rosary on tape.

 

[lak611]

I tyhink EWTN, and probably others, has the rosary on tape.

I got a free CD of the Rosary from the KofC.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Another idea would be to pray the Rosary in the car. You could turn off the radio and pray while you are waiting in traffic. If you arrive at your destination, you can always finish later. Maybe you could say 1-2 decades during your commute to work, 1-2 during your commute home, and then finish at home.

I tyhink EWTN, and probably others, has the rosary on tape.

I got a free CD of the Rosary from the KofC.

I normally say about 15 decades of the rosary while driving almost every day. Can that count as a Friday Penance if I normally do it daily anyway?

 

[LilyM]

I normally say about 15 decades of the rosary while driving almost every day. Can that count as a Friday Penance if I normally do it daily anyway?

Well nothing says a vegetarian (who never eats meat) can’t make abstaining from meat their Friday penance regardless.

Substitute some other prayer or act instead of a rosary if you want.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Well nothing says a vegetarian (who never eats meat) can’t make abstaining from meat their Friday penance regardless.

I think that’s cheating

 

[gtdannemiller]

Well, the safest thing I would say is just to not receive Communion. If you are going to Confession weekly, go to mass after Confession. Hopefully the combination of frequent Confession and Communion will help you eradicate whatever it is. Oh, and pray often. God bless!

 

[gtdannemiller]

I normally say about 15 decades of the rosary while driving almost every day. Can that count as a Friday Penance if I normally do it daily anyway?

I think that the penance is supposed to be something more than what you do ordinarily.

 

[LilyM]

I think that’s cheating

It’s what’s required of them on Ash Wednesday and Lenten Fridays - no more, no less. Are they ‘cheating’ then by simply doing as the Church commands?

Like I said, if you want to do something different to your normal everyday routine then substitute some other practice

 

[lak611]

I found this article from Jimmy Akin. Friday penance is no longer mandatory in the US.

The norms–the part of the document that would create a legal obligation if there was one–thus fails to do so. As a result, there is no obligation in the United States to practice penance on Friday, but Friday remains a day of penance which the bishops have urged all to do penance and, in particular, recommended the continued practice of abstience.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I found this article from Jimmy Akin. Friday penance is no longer mandatory in the US.

But he doesn’t show where the U.S. Bishops got the authority to abolish the penance. The Vatican rule only permits them to give alternate penances. No where does it say they can abolish it altogether.

 

[lak611]

But he doesn’t show where the U.S. Bishops got the authority to abolish the penance. The Vatican rule only permits them to give alternate penances. No where does it say they can abolish it altogether.

If you read the entire article, not just what I quoted, the US Bishops never mandated another practice. There was no alternate penance prescribed. They encourage Friday penance, including the tradtional one of not eating meat, but there is none that is mandated under penalty of sin.

 

[Sir_Knight]

But isn’t it required from the Vatican under penalty of sin? This is SO confusing.

 

[lak611]

But isn’t it required from the Vatican under penalty of sin? This is SO confusing.

From Jimmy Akin’s article:

1. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence as binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law. Our expectation is based on the following considerations;

a. We shall thus freely and out of love for Christ Crucified show our solidarity with the generations of believers to whom this practice frequently became, especially in times of persecution and of great poverty, no mean evidence of fidelity in Christ and his Church.
b. We shall thus also remind ourselves that as Christians, although immersed in the world and sharing its life, we must preserve a saving and necessary difference from the spirit of the world. Our deliberate, personal abstinence from meat, more especially because no longer required by law, will be an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish.

The big legal change comes in norm #3, where the bishops state that “we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence as binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday.” So the obligation to abstain from meat is terminated. The question becomes: What obligation, if any, have the bishops put in its place?

The clause “as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday” is consistent with the idea that they did establish another obligation or a mandate to do penance in some form on Friday, but it also is consistent with the idea that they did not establish a new obligation.

The next thing, per norm #1, is that Friday continues to be a day of penance. The norm clarifies the sense in which this is to be understood by explaining that it is “a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified.” This qualification strongly suggests that, though Friday is a day of penance, it is not one on which all of the faithful are legally bound or bound under pain of sin to do penance. Instead, “those who seek perfection” will do penance on the day.

(bold emphasis is mine)