Tag Archives: sacrament of penance

Card. Müller on authority of Popes, possibility of others correcting contradictory papal teachings

Back in December, First Things published a piece by the former Prefect of the CDF, Gerard Ludwig Card. Müller on the sacrament of penance. His observations on objective sin and subjective guilt, about knowledge, etc., are germane to a whole raft … Read More

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ASK FATHER: If I remember a sin after confessing, should I interrupt the priest and tell him?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: If in Confession I forget a mortal sin (I do examine my conscience but my memory is bad), but then remember AFTER having told the priest that I have finished confessing, and he is talking, should … Read More

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ASK FATHER: If I confess to watching porn, must I say it was homosexual porn?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Father, recently the catechist at our parish said that, when making our confessions, we ought to mention anything that might aggravate or mitigate the gravity of our sins, so that the confessor can get a clearer … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Should I tell a noisy penitent that we can hear everything said in the confessional?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: There is a young lady who regularly takes a very long time in Confession (25-30 minutes, sometimes longer). She is not making a long confession, and it’s not the priest spending long amounts of time giving … Read More

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Too ashamed to go to confession?

I saw an article at CNA which had a great point in it. [Fr. Fortea] also noted the importance of ensuring truly anonymous confessions. In each city, he said, “there ought to be at least one confessional where instead of … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Confession of serious sins in both kind and number.

From a reader… QUAERITUR: According to canon law, we are obliged to confess our mortal sins in “both kind and number.” Would my sins be absolved if I failed to mention the venial sins in number? YES!  Number, too… for … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Confessor gave a penance I could not do. Was the absolution invalid?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: A few weeks ago I went to confession, and after some words of consolation and admonition, Father gave me my penance. He said I had to pray to the Holy Spirit during Lauds and Vespers for … Read More

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POLL: Starting your confession: “Bless me, Father…” or “Forgive me, Father…”

In another post, I responded to a question from a reader about blessings at the beginning of sacramental confession, following the words, “Bless me, Father, I have sinned…”. Of course, some people begin their confession differently. It occurred to me … Read More

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ASK FATHER: CONFESSIONAL DRAMA! Penitent says, “Bless me, Father” and actually wants a blessing!

From a reader… QUAERITUR: One of our wonderful [traditional order/institute] priests this Sunday mentioned – prior to his sermon – that he was surprised that so many of us were not correctly following the ritual of Confession. He said that … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Must I confess mortal sins which I honestly forgot in previous confession?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: After a valid confession, if we later remember a forgotten mortal sin, are we strictly obligated to mention it in our next confession, or is it optional? I have found contradictory answers by both priests and … Read More

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