Writing down sins for confession

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Yeah, I make a list when I have a lot to confess. At the end, after I get outside, I rip it up and throw it in the trash can.
 
For this reason, on the occasion of the ad limina visit to Rome in 1998 of the Bishops of Australia, the Holy Father himself and this Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments made several observations concerning the authentic discipline of the Sacrament of Penance, in particular concerning the altogether exceptional situations apart from which “general absolution” may never be administered.
  1. The norms in force concerning the Sacrament of Penance are found in the Rite of Penance of the Roman Ritual and in the Code of Canon Law, and are based on divine law, the constant doctrine of the Church and her traditional practice.
  2. The divine constitution of the Sacrament of Penance requires each penitent to confess to a priest all mortal sins, as well as any specifying moral circumstances that he remembers after a diligent examination of conscience. For this reason the Code of Canon Law states clearly that “individual and integral confession and absolution is the sole ordinary means by which a member of the faithful who is conscious of mortal sin is reconciled with God and with the Church. Physical or moral impossibility alone excuses from such confession”. In specifying this obligation, the Church has insistently reiterated that “all the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound faithfully to confess their mortal sins at least once a year”. **In accord with the law and practice of the Church, the faithful must orally confess their sins (auricular confession) , except in cases of true physical or moral impossibility (e.g., extreme illness or physical condition inhibiting speech, speech impediment, etc.). **This disposition would exclude communal celebrations of the sacrament in which penitents are invited to present a written list of sins to the priest confessor. It should be noted that such innovations also risk compromising the inviolable seal of sacramental confession.
  3. In giving consideration to the authentic discipline of the Church concerning “general absolution”, the recent interdicasterial meeting of the Roman Curia with a representation of Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Australia noted that:
. . . communal celebrations have not infrequently occasioned an illegitimate use of general absolution. This illegitimate use, like other abuses in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, is to be eliminated.
  1. With respect to the administration of “general absolution”, the exclusive authority enjoyed by Diocesan Bishops to determine whether a grave necessity is truly present in a given case in their diocese does not permit them “to change the required conditions, to substitute other conditions for those given, or to determine grave necessity according to their personal criteria however worthy.”
  2. The Holy Father has pointed to the personal nature of sin, conversion, forgiveness and reconciliation as the reason why the Rite of Reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution “demands the personal confession of sins and individual absolution”. Since individual and integral confession of sins is not only an obligation “but also an inviolable and inalienable right” of the faithful, any innovation which would interfere with their fulfillment of this obligation, such as when penitents are invited or otherwise encouraged to name just one sin or to name a representative sin, is to be eliminated.
  3. The Rite of Penance includes material for “Penitential celebrations”, which are described as gatherings of the people of God to hear the proclamation of God’s word. “Care should be taken that the faithful do not confuse these celebrations with the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance”, in particular, by making clear to them that such celebrations are preparatory in nature and do not include the sacramental forgiveness of sins. It is to be borne in mind that such penitential celebrations may not make use of the sacramental formula of absolution, nor should they employ the concluding formula from the Penitential Rite at Mass, nor any other formula which could be misconstrued to be an absolution from sin.
  4. Neither the Rite of Reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution, nor the aforementioned Penitential celebrations may be integrated into the celebration of the Mass.
  5. It is to be recalled that the “Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full communion with the Church.”
Jorge A. Card. Medina Estévez
Prefect

I hope I have captured what the letter says.
 
benedictgal said:
For this reason, on the occasion of the ad limina visit to Rome in 1998 of the Bishops of Australia, the Holy Father himself and this Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments made several observations concerning the authentic discipline of the Sacrament of Penance, in particular concerning the altogether exceptional situations apart from which “general absolution” may never be administered.
  1. The norms in force concerning the Sacrament of Penance are found in the Rite of Penance of the Roman Ritual and in the Code of Canon Law, and are based on divine law, the constant doctrine of the Church and her traditional practice.
  2. The divine constitution of the Sacrament of Penance requires each penitent to confess to a priest all mortal sins, as well as any specifying moral circumstances that he remembers after a diligent examination of conscience. For this reason the Code of Canon Law states clearly that “individual and integral confession and absolution is the sole ordinary means by which a member of the faithful who is conscious of mortal sin is reconciled with God and with the Church. Physical or moral impossibility alone excuses from such confession”. In specifying this obligation, the Church has insistently reiterated that “all the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound faithfully to confess their mortal sins at least once a year”. **In accord with the law and practice of the Church, the faithful must orally confess their sins (auricular confession) , except in cases of true physical or moral impossibility (e.g., extreme illness or physical condition inhibiting speech, speech impediment, etc.). **This disposition would exclude communal celebrations of the sacrament in which penitents are invited to present a written list of sins to the priest confessor. It should be noted that such innovations also risk compromising the inviolable seal of sacramental confession.
  3. In giving consideration to the authentic discipline of the Church concerning “general absolution”, the recent interdicasterial meeting of the Roman Curia with a representation of Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Australia noted that:
. . . communal celebrations have not infrequently occasioned an illegitimate use of general absolution. This illegitimate use, like other abuses in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, is to be eliminated.
  1. With respect to the administration of “general absolution”, the exclusive authority enjoyed by Diocesan Bishops to determine whether a grave necessity is truly present in a given case in their diocese does not permit them “to change the required conditions, to substitute other conditions for those given, or to determine grave necessity according to their personal criteria however worthy.”
  2. The Holy Father has pointed to the personal nature of sin, conversion, forgiveness and reconciliation as the reason why the Rite of Reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution “demands the personal confession of sins and individual absolution”. Since individual and integral confession of sins is not only an obligation “but also an inviolable and inalienable right” of the faithful, any innovation which would interfere with their fulfillment of this obligation, such as when penitents are invited or otherwise encouraged to name just one sin or to name a representative sin, is to be eliminated.
  3. The Rite of Penance includes material for “Penitential celebrations”, which are described as gatherings of the people of God to hear the proclamation of God’s word. “Care should be taken that the faithful do not confuse these celebrations with the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance”, in particular, by making clear to them that such celebrations are preparatory in nature and do not include the sacramental forgiveness of sins. It is to be borne in mind that such penitential celebrations may not make use of the sacramental formula of absolution, nor should they employ the concluding formula from the Penitential Rite at Mass, nor any other formula which could be misconstrued to be an absolution from sin.
  4. Neither the Rite of Reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution, nor the aforementioned Penitential celebrations may be integrated into the celebration of the Mass.
  5. It is to be recalled that the “Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full communion with the Church.”
Jorge A. Card. Medina Estévez
Prefect

I hope I have captured what the letter says.
Click to expand...
OK, this was date 1998. The retreat was back in 1991. I haven’t been to that retreat since then.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
OK, this was date 1998. The retreat was back in 1991. I haven’t been to that retreat since then.

Jim
Click to expand...
Irrespective of the date, the reprobation against this practice still stands. I had to research this whole matter when I was challenging what they were going to do for the penance service. Needless to say, it was difficult for me to stand up to the folks at the movement to which I belong. However, I could not, in good conscience, allow something invalid and ilicit to happen, especially during Holy Week, that would nullify everyone’s confessions.

At least my spiritual director was with me on this one.
 
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