I respect the Catholic Church (usually), but I am not a Catholic. So I don't quite understand this. So two questions, please, for the FR Catholics out there.
If any priest can forgive a sin, why did the Pope make an allowance for abortion this Holy Year? Didn't all priests already have that ability?
And two, what is the situation if a sin is not forgiven by a priest?
See pbear’s response in #47. Abortion is different from most sins in that there’s an automatic excommunication attached to it. So you not only have to confess, you have to have that excommunication lifted.
Yes, any priest can absolve sins, provided the person making the person confessing has what’s called “purpose of amendment”—i.e., he or she is sorry and really trying to do better. If the priest finds that you are not sorry and have no desire whatsoever to change your ways, he will not absolve you. He will tell you to come back if and when you are ready.
To relate it to John 20, the priest can forgive sin or retain it. It’s pretty uncommon though for a priest to not give absolution.
Abortion incurs a penalty of automatic excommunication. The bishop must first lift this prior to absolution. Priests must first consult the local bishop normally.
During the Year of Mercy the Pope is allowing priests to give absolution without the going to the bishop first. His hope is that many repentant women will more easily be reconciled to God and to the Church.
You need to read all the posts. The information you seek is there.
If a sin is not forgiven, it remains on one's soul. For a Catholic, to die with a mortal sin means that you will go to hell. I highly doubt that any sins are not forgiven. Just by the fact of going to confession, a Catholic indicates that they wish to repent. Why? Because the Sacrament of Reconciliation has fallen out of popular favor. If a Catholic doesn't even go to Mass every Sunday, it's unlikely that they go to Confession. Shame on us.