Who would a priest or even the Pope go to for confession?

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Yep, another Priest, or in the case of the Pope, I believe he goes to one of the Bishops but then again, they were priests (technically still are).
 
I think I read someplace that the Pope has a specific priest he has chosen as his confessor.
 
TristanCross said:
If the Pope or priests sin, who do they confess to? :confused:
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Priest goes to any other priest. The Pope goes to another priest also, but I believe it is a usual confessor. I think that a normal confessor is a good idea, like they do it in the east.
 
The unbroken tradition since the 1600s has been that the popes have a Capuchin Franciscan Brother who serves as both the official teacher, preacher and confessor to the pope and his household. Each pope selects the brother he wants. This does not mean that the pope is bound to this. He can go to whomever and probably does, especially if he’s traveling as his confessor may be back home or at his friary. He does not live at the Vatican. He lives at the local Capuchin friary a few minutes away.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
TristanCross said:
If the Pope or priests sin, who do they confess to? :confused:
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Any Catholic, including priests and the Pope, can confess to any (other) Catholic priest. As has been stated, though, the Pope usually has a regular confessor. I’d imagine a lot of priests do too.

It’s a wonderful insight into the sacrament of confession, and into our common humanity and frailties, to see a priest pop into the penitent’s side of the confessional. Reminds me of James’ admonition ‘confess your sins one to another’. :yup:
 
LilyM said:
Any Catholic, including priests and the Pope, can confess to any (other) Catholic priest. As has been stated, though, the Pope usually has a regular confessor. I’d imagine a lot of priests do too.

It’s a wonderful insight into the sacrament of confession, and into our common humanity and frailties, to see a priest pop into the penitent’s side of the confessional. Reminds me of James’ admonition ‘confess your sins one to another’. :yup:
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Priests and religious brothers and sisters usually have a regular confessor. Nuns and monks have a confessor chosen for the entire house by the the abbot or the abbess. Some offer at least two, but not always. If the superior of a house is a priest, he may not hear the confessions of those who live in the house.

The pope, as I said above, has used the Capuchin Franciscan Brothers since the Catholic Counter Reformation, because these friars were always very faithful and obedient to the popes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
I have more questions.

How did the Pope become Pope?

Can the Pope forgive sins?

What are some jobs within the Church (I would like to work in the Church one day).

Thank you 🙂
 
TristanCross said:
I have more questions.

How did the Pope become Pope?

Can the Pope forgive sins?

What are some jobs within the Church (I would like to work in the Church one day).

Thank you 🙂
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The Pope was elected by the College of Cardinals, who the whole Catholic world was praying for at the time to be guided by the Holy Spirit in their choice.

Of course the Pope can forgive sins - he is a priest and Bishop as well as Pope, so has all the powers that any priest or bishop has.

Jobs? Depends on where your interests lie. Parishes always need good administrative staff, bookkeepers and the like.

If you want to minister during the liturgy you can be a greeter or usher, an altar server, a reader at Mass or possibly an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion or EMHC.

If you want to go further and give more by way of service you can look into becoming a Permanent Deacon.
 
TristanCross said:
I have more questions.

How did the Pope become Pope?

Can the Pope forgive sins?

What are some jobs within the Church (I would like to work in the Church one day).

Thank you 🙂
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Popes are elected by the cardinals, who are selected by the previous pope.

The pope cannot forgive sins. Only God can. However, God gives priests the power to absolve sins. The pope still can exercise his priestly ministry (and often does), so he can “forgive sins” in that sense.

Jobs within the Church are the same as any other organization. There are so many to name!
 
thunderballs75 said:
Popes are elected by the cardinals, who are selected by the previous pope.

The pope cannot forgive sins. Only God can. However, God gives priests the power to absolve sins. The pope still can exercise his priestly ministry (and often does), so he can “forgive sins” in that sense.

Jobs within the Church are the same as any other organization. There are so many to name!
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Wait a minute. You’re making a distinction between absolution and forgiveness that the Church does not make, neither the Catholic Church nor the Orthodox. The believe of all the Apostolic Churches is that when the priest says, “I absolve you” you are forgiven. The forgiveness comes from Christ, but the priest is Christ at that moment. Therefore, just as we cannot separate the humanity and divinity of Christ, we cannot separate the priest and the Lord in the sacrament of Reconciliation. They retain their distinctness, but are united in one reality. The Orthodox have always called this “ontology” and the Catholic Church began to use the same term many years ago.

We have to be careful how we say this.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
thunderballs75 said:
The pope cannot forgive sins. Only God can. However, God gives priests the power to absolve sins. The pope still can exercise his priestly ministry (and often does), so he can “forgive sins” in that sense.
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It’s a false distinction. Scripture says ‘whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven’. Jesus is giving them His own power in this regard, just as He claimed the Father’s own power for Himself when He forgave the paralytic.

Yes, Jesus works through them in this, but your explanation is a bit like saying ‘well, no, the Pope can’t breathe, because God gave him the air and the lungs, and the power to use them, so it’s really God breathing with and through him’ if you catch my drift.
 
JReducation,

I gotta be completely honest. I’m very offended of you calling a priest God…
 
What does a permenant Deacon do?
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First, a Deacon is a Deacon. In the Western Church there are Deacons who are called Transitional Deacons, they are in preparation for ordination to the Priesthood. So called Permanant Deacons are Deacons who are not going to persue the Priesthood, (usually but not always because they are married. In the East there are those who study and only feel the call to be Deacons, some are married some not, however marriage is not an impediment to the Priesthood in most Eastern Catholic Churches.

What they do, is assist the Priest at the Liturgy, they may read or sing the Gospel, preach, baptize, and perform marriages. They may not officiate at other sacraments, but assist Priests and Bishops at other rites. If a Deacon is married before his ordination and his wife dies, he must then remain unmarried, unless he receives special permission to re-marry. This usually rarely happens, in a case where the priest and his wife have small children that need a mother.
 
JReducation,

You said that the priest becomes Christ for a second. Christ is God.

Filioque,

I like the sound of that. 🙂

God bless
 
TristanCross said:
JReducation,
You said that the priest becomes Christ for a second. Christ is God.
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The Church teaches that the priest acts “In persona Chrisit” or in the person of Christ. The priesthood is the prieshood of Christ, which He shares with us all, in a general way when we are baptized. In particular when a priest is ordained. While the priest is given the authority to forgive sins in the name of God, it is God who forgives the sins, as was mentioned in a previous posting.

As Catholics we believe that Jesus, when He founded the Church gave us special means of obtaining Grace, The primary means are the Sacraments. He authorized the Apostles and through them their successors, (present day Bishops and Priests) to dispese the Sacraments in His name. Sort of the way a Sheriff gives the authority to a Deputy to arrest, and uphold the law. The priest has the authority to Act in the name of or in the place of Jesus, on behalf of the congregation he legitimatly serves. Since his authority comes to him through the Church from Jesus, we can say he is the vicar, or representative of Christ, and that the office he holds is worthy of respect.

When we look at the word Christ, we have to remember it is not His name. His name was/is not Jesus Christ. The term is Jesus, the Christ. Christ comes from the Greek, Christos, which means the annointed. Annointing was used for many things in ancient, and in modern times. Annointing with oil was and is a part of the coronation of a King or Queen. It is also part of the ceremonies of ordination of a priest and bishop. It was part of the medicine of ancient times, as well as religious healing prayers in the ancient world, as well as among Catholics, Orthodox and some other Churches today. Anointings are part of Confirmation and Baptism among Eastern and Western Catholics, Orthodox, some Anglicans and others. In a manner of speaking, anyone baptized is another christ, a priest is another christ, (or annointed person). As Catholics, when we refer to a priest acting in the person of Christ, or being an Alter Christus, or another Christ, it is his office as priest, and the fact his hands are annointed at ordination, not that he in and of himself is worthy of such a title, but because he is acting on behalf of and by the authority given him by Christ Jesus that he is given the title.

I don’t think the poster means that the priest is literally God, that would be a misrepresentation of who and what the priesthood is.
 
LilyM said:
It’s a false distinction. Scripture says ‘whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven’. Jesus is giving them His own power in this regard, just as He claimed the Father’s own power for Himself when He forgave the paralytic.

Yes, Jesus works through them in this, but your explanation is a bit like saying ‘well, no, the Pope can’t breathe, because God gave him the air and the lungs, and the power to use them, so it’s really God breathing with and through him’ if you catch my drift.
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You’re right actually. Forgive me for not being clear.

The person above me explained it very well too.
 
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