5
votes
2answers
102 views

What is the basis for penance (satisfaction) in sacramental confession?

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, The Sacrament of Penance (Confession): As stated above, the absolution given by the priest to a penitent who confesses his sins with the proper dispositions ...
8
votes
2answers
240 views

Does the priest have the power to forgive sins?

John 20:22-23 (KJV) 22  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23  Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; ...
5
votes
1answer
50 views

What different acts do Catholic priests require of people who go to confession?

I understand that when people go to confessional in the Catholic Church, the priest will often prescribe certain things for them to do for penance in order for their sins to be forgiven. I have heard ...
6
votes
1answer
146 views

Under what circumstances is a priest supposed to deny forgiveness to a person?

As I understand it, in Roman Catholic practice, people regularly confess their sins to a priest, who then instructs them what they must do in order to be forgiven. However, it is apparently possible ...
10
votes
2answers
242 views

Do Priests, Cardinals, and Popes have a confessional to which they themselves can/should/must go?

The confessional is a standard practice of the Roman Catholic Church where church members may (or must) go to confess their sins to a priest. As I understand it, the priest then decides whether or ...
3
votes
1answer
368 views

When did the practice of Confession in the Catholic Church begin?

Confession, specifically the practice of confessing one's sins to a priest, is a quite common practice in the Catholic Church. When and how did this sacrament first originate and become codified as ...
5
votes
1answer
96 views

When do catechumens go to confession?

I thought I'd answer a question asked here about non-Catholics receiving the sacrament of reconciliation by using the RCIA book, but in skimming all the steps, there doesn't seem to be much said about ...
11
votes
3answers
442 views

Are non-Catholics allowed to go to confession?

As an Episcopalian, we techincally have the rite of Confession and Reconciliation as one of the things we are supposed to do, but in actual practice, I've never seen it done. In contrast, I know that ...
7
votes
1answer
92 views

What makes a confession sacramental?

In the Catholic tradition, confession to a priest is treated with special protection as a sacred rite. The priest is charged with maintaining the confidential nature of the confession, something they ...
10
votes
2answers
979 views

Do Catholic priests have to report child abuse confessed in secret?

Is there any canon, regulation, norm or diocesan norm which requires priests to report confessions of child abuse? Are priests obliged to follow laws to this effect? I'm not asking in regard to ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views

How do Catholics justify confessing to a priest?

Roman Catholic churches have a practice where congregational members confess their sins and the like to a priest in a confessional. As I was saying to a friend a couple days ago, the practice doesn't ...