<p>Suppose a non-Catholic, for whatever reason, feels compelled to confess to a priest. Does the Church allow for this? I grew up Catholic but haven’t practiced in many years and don’t know much about such intricacies.</p>
<p>This is what I found:</p>
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<p>However, walking into a Church during Confession hours, going in, and confessing to the priest is entirely possible, as the priest isn’t even supposed to know who you are. Also, if God keeps track of things like that, I’m sure He’d recognize the effort.</p>
<p>like the OP I am also a non-practicing Catholic. According to this wiki article, a lapsed Catholic (ie non-practicing and has not changed his/her religion) is still a Catholic and can return to the religion by going to confession</p>
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<p>[Lapsed</a> Catholic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapsed_Catholic]Lapsed”>Lapsed Catholic - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>A non-Catholic could certainly walk in to a confessional during regular confession times. He/she could also call to make an appointment for confession. </p>
<p>I would think it would come out fairly quickly during the conversation that the person wasn’t Catholic. (There would be some definite clues in that the person would be very unfamiliar with the process, which has its own ritual)</p>
<p>Before the priest granted absolution, however, he would have to make a determination whether or not the person truly understood and believed in the sacrament. If he did not grant absolution, then the “confession” would merely be a confidential conversation. I believe the priest would still be bound by the seal of the confessional.</p>
<p>There is one instance in which the hearing of non- Catholic’s confessions is fairly routine. When a non- Catholic, who is already baptized, wishes to “convert” to Catholicism, they make a confession prior to receiving Eucharist and Confirmation. The Catholic Church recognizes all trinitarian baptisms as valid.</p>
<p>I know that you specifically mentioned wanting to confess to a priest, but you can directly confess to God in prayer - no “middle-man” needed! True penance comes from truly being sorry for what you did, confessing that to God, and really trying to not do it again.</p>
<p>^^^ I was thinking the exact same thing! I was raised Catholic & joined a Protestant church when my first child was born … H & I wanted to attend the same church to raise our children, and after attending his church I decided to make the switch. While I do not harbor any ill will toward the Catholic church or any of its sacraments, I found a great deal of inner peace when I discovered that one can request God’s forgiveness through a one-to-one conversation (yes, eliminating the middle-man). </p>
<p>If you feel the desire to go to a formal confession, there should be nothing stopping you (many Catholics go YEARS without going to confession & so are a bit rusty when it comes to protocol - can’t believe a priest would question your Catholicism if you aren’t quite sure of how it all works). However, also know that you can ask for absolution in other ways if that might be more comfortable for you.</p>
<p>Another idea … I have heard of group penance services in some Catholic churches. Sins are not confessed to anyone but God during these services, but a priest leads the service. That may be a good option for you.</p>
<p>(or if not “you,” whomever you are asking for)</p>
<p>kelsmom- with all due respect, there are no legitimate Catholic group penance services such as the one you describe. Group penance services start and end with communal prayer but still involve individual confessions. The “general absolution” type event that you are describing applies only in very specific situations- such as a group of folks going off into battle or a plane going down- some kind of situation where individual confessions cannot be heard. And there is always a requirement that individual confession be done as soon as possible thereafter. </p>
<p>I also think there is a difference between a lapsed Catholic and a non- Catholic who goes to confession. And in either case, if a person goes to confession, I would think they would be honest about their religious background. If that didn’t come up, I believe any priest worth his salt would probably inquire about the penitent’s religious practice-like how often do you attend Mass? how often do you pray? as he tries to guide the person toward some spiritual growth. At that point, I would think the person’s Catholic or non- Catholic status would emerge.</p>
<p>I have heard this question asked of priests before. They have all said generally the same thing. If the person is in immediate danger/deathbed/whatever, the priest is to administer the sacrament as requested.</p>
<p>however, if the person just walks into the confessional and says that he’s not Catholic, the priest will listen to what they have to say and offer whatever assistance that they need, but they don’t do the absolution prayer at the end. </p>
<p>The priest is not a “middle-man”. He’s acting in persona christi. At that moment, you’re not talking to a man; you’re talking to Christ.</p>
<p>And, anyone can always ask for forgiveness of sins at anytime. Heck, when my plane took off this morning, I asked forgiveness… And, all venial sins are forgiven at Mass.</p>
<p>People don’t understand what confession is. It’s not just about forgiveness of sins. It can be a discussion about a struggle a person constantly has…maybe it’s someone who struggles with lying or infidelity or someone who is being temped to have an affair. The priest is trained to offer advice and guidance as to how to stop committing that repetitive sin or to avoid the temptation of an affair and to repair the marriage. </p>
<p>And, the priest is not allowed to reveal what he’s been told under any circumstance…even under the threat of death. (And, yes, there have been priests executed for not revealing confessions).</p>
<p>There is a healing that occurs during confession that is hard to describe.</p>
<p>Mom2, I would add that there are other ways the venial sins are forgiven (e.g. praying the Rosary, an Act of Contrition, receiving the Communion or through the intercessory prayers at Mass, etc.). On the other hand, confessing all sins (since the last confession) is, in my opinion, good practice and an insurance that one reflects sincerely and thoroughly on one’s sins in order to live a better life.</p>
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<p>Indeed. And even stronger, he cannot act or react to the knowledge – a priest, hearing a sincere confession of, say, planting bombs, cannot then call the building targeted in order to let them know about the threat (contrived example, I know).</p>
<p>^^^^^In bomb example above, seriously??? Would the priest not say, instead of “say 100 hail Mary’s” (or whatever they say, don’t mean to offend with my ignorance), “You are forgiven, and now call the authorities RIGHT NOW and warn them of the bomb!!!”</p>
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<p>In all likelihood, that would be a/the penance (like for a murderer to turn himself in, and so forth). But the priest cannot compel the penitent to perform the penance, and absolution is given before the penance is completed in almost all situations. I have not read anywhere in canon that a priest can withhold absolution until penance is complete, nor have I heard of the priest’s ability to determine what constitutes “sorry enough” (the penitent must truly be repentant and intending to commit no further sin).</p>
<p>In other words, yes the priest could. That still does not mean he can act on any information received during confession outside of the confessional.</p>
<p>I was brought up a Catholic, but have lapsed. So I should know this, but I don’t:</p>
<p>Can the priest refuse absolution if the person doesn’t seem to have repented? Let’s say for example the person said, “She said no but I had sex with her, and then she called the cops, that b****. Now I’m sorry I ever did anything.” Say it seems like the rapist is only sorry he got caught. Can the priest refuse absolution in a case like that?</p>
<p>A friend of my mom, who had 8 or 9 kids and nearly died giving birth to the last one, was refused absolution once, when she confessed that she was using birth control. This was back in the '60s or 70s. Priest were (and perhaps still are) all over the map on the issue of birth control – apparently a newly married cousin of mine (also in the '70s) was told by a priest that it was a good idea for a married couple to get to know each other well before the babies came along, so BC was okay.</p>
<p>if you are baptized Catholic, no matter what you do, you are always considered Catholic in the eyes of the Church. you are always welcomed back to confession, although you should be totally clear that you have not practiced in a while.
cardinal fang - a priest can definitely withhold absolution. it’s not all that uncommon. if the confessor doesn’t seem like they regret their actions, a priest can absolutely refuse to absolve their sins.</p>
<p>^^^^^I didn’t know that. I was baptized Catholic, but as a 10 y/o, decided to be baptized into another Christian denomination. My very Catholic aunt was hysterical, crying and telling my Dad I would be excommunicated and would, in all likelihood, lose my salvation.</p>
<p>I’m no theologian, but I’ll repeat an explanation a Catholic gave me years ago.
He explained that many Protestants mistakenly believe the priest forgives the sinner. Not so. God forgives the sinner, if he is truly repentant. Yes, the priest is perceived as a middleman and many P have trouble understanding why a sinner needs to tell another man his troubles seeking God’s forgiveness rather than going directly to God with it. Is it the priest has so much power that he can better negotiate with God for the sinner’s forgiveness? Has God delegated the forgiveness duties and authorized priests to forgive for Him? Is the layperson unworthy of praying directly to God? Can the priest forgive? “No” said my friend. But my friend said confessing to a priest served two intents.
- If a sinner is willing to divulge his sins, then that is evidence he is truly repentant.
- If a priest assures a sinner he will be forgiven, then the sinner can continue on with his life feeling better without the fear that his past sins are still weighing against him.
Protestants that pray directly to God don’t have assurances that they are forgiven and so might still be troubled wondering whether they were forgiven.</p>
<p>So, that was his explanation. Please notice I used words like “evidence” and “intent”, and have not used words like guarantee or proof.</p>
<p>Here again I am guessing, but on the bomb example:
If a man asked forgiveness for a bomb he set that was expected to detonate in 2 hours I doubt a priest would grant absolution at that time. My thoughts are that if the man could stop the bomb or warn nearby people but chooses not to, then logic would indicate he isn’t truly sorry. Wouldn’t a truly sorry person do all he could to correct his actions in advance of a tragedy occurring?</p>
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<p>God’s word assures us. If we are sincere, he is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9). Jesus himself is our intercessor, so we do not need an earthly intermediary (1 John 2:1-2). God tells us that we can come directly to his throne of grace, any time. (Hebrews 4:16)</p>
<p>Confession for me (Baptist) is for my own benefit. God has already promised to forgive my sins, and He certainly knows what they are. When I come before him to confess them, I am telling him that I agree they are are sins, and that I need his daily help to overcome them.</p>
<p>I was raised Catholic, and during college and since, consider myself protestant. Protestants (and Catholics) who pray directly to God DO have assurance that they are forgiven. As is written in 1 John 1:9 “…if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to gorgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong”. The word of the bible is our assurance.</p>
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<p>First, salvation is not permanently “lost” ever. Second, excommunication simply places you outside of the Body of Christ (the Church) until you repent. It does not take away Catholicity. </p>
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<p>This is true of every Catholic confession as well. The question is not whether this passage is true, but what it means.</p>