Sacrament of Penance and confession of sins in general.
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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 ...
11
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3answers
455 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 ...
10
votes
2answers
244 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 ...
10
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2answers
998 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 ...
8
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2answers
247 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; ...
7
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1answer
93 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 ...
6
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5answers
271 views
Is confessing to a priest the only way to be forgiven?
We first confess in our first communion and the priests say that we should always confess our sins, but is it the only way to be forgiven by God ?
Can't we pray and ask for forgiveness? I've heard of ...
6
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1answer
149 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 ...
5
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1answer
97 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 ...
5
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2answers
105 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
51 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 ...
4
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3answers
1k views
Protestant rejection of the Catholic implementation of confession
(Pardon the length - my original post was more concise, but wasn't clearly conveying my question.)
Background:
I am currently studying the Spiritual Disciplines at a Protestant seminary. For those ...
3
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1answer
145 views
How did Luther view 'confessing intentional sins' to a priest for forgiveness?
The Catholic church at the time of Luther had refined what they called the sacrament of penance. It consisted in contrition (genuine remorse for one’s sins), confession (to the priest), and ...
3
votes
1answer
384 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 ...
