- Feb 5, 2002
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The pope had harsh words for priests who withhold sacramental forgiveness. But there can be justifiable reasons for it.
The Church’s ritual has the priest introduce confession with these words: “May God who has enlightened every heart help you to know your sins and trust in his mercy.”
As the Code of Canon Law (CIC) puts it, “individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church” (960). We need God’s grace to recognize our sins, and the confessor is, by his office, an instrument of God’s grace.
Occasionally, when a confessor has significant doubts as to a penitent’s disposition, circumstances, Scripture, traditional pastoral practice, and canon law require a priest to deny absolution.
Continued below.
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The Church’s ritual has the priest introduce confession with these words: “May God who has enlightened every heart help you to know your sins and trust in his mercy.”
As the Code of Canon Law (CIC) puts it, “individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church” (960). We need God’s grace to recognize our sins, and the confessor is, by his office, an instrument of God’s grace.
Occasionally, when a confessor has significant doubts as to a penitent’s disposition, circumstances, Scripture, traditional pastoral practice, and canon law require a priest to deny absolution.
Continued below.
A Priest Explains Denying Absolution
The pope had harsh words for priests who withhold sacramental forgiveness from penitents. But there can be justifiable reasons for it.
