Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
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In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance (commonly called Confession, Reconciliation or Penance) is the method given by Christ to the Church by which individual men and women may be freed of sins committed after receiving Baptism. (It is not necessary to confess sins committed before baptism, as baptism itself is considered to remove the guilt of all prior sins.) This sacrament is known by many names, including penance, reconciliation, and confession (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sections 1423-1442). Official Church publications always refer to the sacrament as "Penance," or "Reconciliation" or "Penance and Reconciliation." However, many lay Catholics continue to use the term "confession" in reference to the sacrament.
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[edit] Minister of the Sacrament
Catholics believe that no priest, as an individual man, however pious or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone; however, God can and does exercise it through the Catholic priesthood. Catholics believe God exercises the power of forgiveness by means of the sacrament of penance, which can be administered validly by every validly ordained priest or bishop.
[edit] Form of the Sacrament
The form of Penance has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly. The role of the priest is as a minister of Christ's mercy. He acts in persona Christi. The penitent confesses mortal sins in order to restore his relationship to God and to receive the fullness of God's grace and salvation. The sinner may as a pious matter confess venial sins. The intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, lost by sin. The Council of Trent (Session Fourteen, Chapter I) quoted John 20:22-23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine concerning this sacrament, but Catholics also consider Matthew 9:2-8 and 1 Corinthians 11:27 to be among the Scriptural bases for the sacrament.
The words of Absolution in the Roman rite takes this form:
God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The essential words, however, are "I absolve you from your sins. + In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
The penitent makes an act of contrition, a prayer acknowledging his/her faults before God. It typically commences: O my God, I am heartily sorry... Reconciliation is necessary before receiving the sacrament of Eucharist for the first time. The Catholic Church teaches that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the only ordinary way in which a person can receive forgiveness for mortal sins committed after baptism. However, perfect contrition (a sorrow motivated by love of God rather than of fear of punishment) is an extraordinary way of removing the guilt of mortal sin before or without confession (if there is no opportunity of confessing to a priest). Such contrition would include the intention of confessing.
[edit] Mortal Sin
To commit a mortal sin three conditions must be met:
- the matter of the action must be grave or serious
- the person must know the action to be sinful
- the person commits the action with full consent of the will
Other sins would be classed as venial; confession of venial sins is strongly recommended but not obligatory, and is said to strengthen the penitent against temptation to mortal sin. Serious matters for a mortal sin, according to Catholic teaching, include murder, blasphemy, fornication, masturbation, the use of artificial contraception, or missing Mass without a good reason on a Sunday or a holy day of obligation. (A general rule for mortal sins are any that are directly against or easily inferred from the Ten Commandments, e.g. "do not murder" includes violence.) It is a widely held belief of the faith that if a person guilty of mortal sin dies without either receiving the sacrament or experiencing perfect contrition with the intention of confessing to a priest, he/she will receive eternal damnation.
[edit] Conditions for validity
In order for the sacrament to be valid the penitent must do more than simply confess his known mortal sins to a priest. He must a) be truly sorry for each of the mortal sins he committed, b) have a firm intention never to commit them again, and c) perform the penance given by the priest. Also, in addition to confessing the types of mortal sins committed, the penitent must disclose how many times each sin was committed, to the best of his/her ability.
[edit] Frequency of Reception
The Code of Canon Law requires all Catholics to confess mortal sins at least once a year, although frequent reception of the sacrament is recommended. Traditionally many receive the sacrament during the liturgical seasons of Lent or Advent. In reality many Catholics confess far less or more than is required; of all parts of the faith it is perhaps among the most common to be neglected.
[edit] Seal of Confession
For Catholic priests, the confidentiality of all statements made by penitents during the course of confession is absolute. This strict confidentiality is known as the Seal of the Confessional. According to the Code of Canon Law, 983 §1, "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason." Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others. (This is unique to the Seal of the Confessional. Many other forms of confidentiality, including in most states attorney-client privilege, allow ethical breaches of the confidence to save the life of another.) For a priest to break that confidentiality would lead to a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication reserved to the Holy See (Code of Canon Law, 1388 §1). In a criminal matter, a priest may encourage or require the penitent to surrender to authorities and may withhold absolution if the penitent refuses to do so. However, this is the extent of the leverage he wields; he may not directly or indirectly disclose the matter to civil authorities himself.
There are limited cases where portions of a confession may be revealed to others, but always with the penitent's permission and always without actually revealing the penitent's identity. This is the case, for example, with unusually serious offenses, as some excommunicable offenses are reserved to the bishop or even to the Holy See, and their permission to grant absolution would first have to be obtained.
Civil authorities in the United States are usually respectful of this confidentiality. However, several years ago an ambitious attorney in Portland, Oregon, secretly recorded a confession without the knowledge of the priest or the penitent involved. This led to official protests by then local Archbishop Francis George and the Vatican. The tape has since been sealed, and the Federal Court has since ruled that the taping was in violation of the 4th Amendment, and ordered an injunction against any further tapings.
[edit] Manuals of confession in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages the manuals of confession constituted a literary genre. These manuals were guidebooks on how to obtain the maximum benefits from the sacrament. There were two kinds of manuals: those addressed to the faithful, so that they could prepare a good confession, and those addressed to the priests, who had to make sure that no sins were left unmentioned and the confession was as thorough as possible. The priest had to ask questions, being careful not to suggest sins that perhaps the faithful had not thought of and give them ideas. Manuals were written in Latin and in the vernacular. See http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/projects/arroyo/manuels.htm (in French) about manuals of confession in medieval Spain.
[edit] Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholicism
Within the Eastern Orthodox Church it is understood that the Mystery of confession and repentance has more to do with the spiritual development of the individual and much less to do with purification. Sin is not seen as a stain on the soul, but rather a mistake that needs correction. In general, the Orthodox Christian chooses an individual to trust as his or her spiritual guide. In most cases this is the parish priest but may, in fact, be any individual, male or female, who has received permission from a bishop to hear confessions. This person is often referred to as ones spiritual father or mother. Once chosen, the individual turns to his spiritual guide for advice on his or her spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice. Orthodox Christians tend to confess only to this individual and the intimacy created by this bond makes the spiritual guide the most qualified in dealing with the person, so much so, that no one can override what a spiritual guide tells his or her charges. In general practice, after one confesses to ones spiritual guide the parish priest (Who may or may not have heard the confession but canonically should have) covers the head of the person with his Epitrachilion (Stole) and reads the prayers of repentance, asking God to forgive the transgression of the individual. It is highly possible that the person confesses his sins to his spiritual guide on a regular basis but only seeks out the priest to read the prayer before communing.
[edit] Eastern Catholicism
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the spiritual director (usually termed a "geron" after the Greek word for "old man") may be privy to something resembling a confession, and is protected by the same seal as would be any priest hearing a confession. However, one must still confess their sins to the priest before receiving the prayers of absolution. In some Eastern Catholic Churches, clergy hear confession in the sanctuary, in public view but quietly.
