Posted on 03/04/2016 5:54:06 PM PST by ebb tide
Pope Francis, in his recent address to the priests who will act as “Missionaries of Mercy,” once again placed himself at odds with established (and infallible) Catholic teaching, when he undermined the very matter and form of the sacrament of confession (all emphasis in the following quotes is mine):
That makes a valid confession actually. As long as the priest is able to understand the specific sin it counts.
I don’t think what the Pope said there is heretical.
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Arius was not pope.
I wouldn’t doubt for a second that this guy said something else contrary to the Catholic Faith, but is it possible he is referring to someone who actually can not physically speak? If so, the Church must have some way of providing confession for them.
If someone comes to you it is because he doesn’t want to fall into these situations, but he doesn’t dare say it, he is afraid to say it and then not be able to do it. But if he cannot do it, ad impossibila nemo tenetur. And the Lord understands these things, the language of gestures. Have open arms, to understand what is inside that heart that cannot be said or said this way … somewhat because of shame … you understand me.
Indeed. I believe that as Catholics we move beyond the abstraction of “our sinfulness” and declare in concrete terms our sins. We need to own up and confess. The shame should be welcome by any true penitent as part of the reconciliation process.
No, the Arian Catholic Church is not part of the Roman Catholic Church. Arius himself was excommunicated by the Council of Nicea (from which orthodox Christians got the Nicean Creed), and only a sympathetic emperor brought him back out of exile. He died before he could take Communion again though- and he’s still regarded as a heretic today, especially after the Nicean Creed was reaffirmed in the 380s.
Good catch. I should know better than to give this imposter the benefit of the doubt. Thank you for setting me straight.
The last Sunday of my tour in Thailand, back in 1963, I wanted to get to Confession before making the flight across the Pacific. I entered the Confessional and asked, "Do you speak English?" I don't know what the priest said, but it definitely wasn't in English. I spoke a little Thai, and I think I'd have recognized a reply in Thai. It sounded more like Chinese to me. Anyway, I realized I wasn't going to have a chance to make a confession, so I just left the Confessional.
That's right. Enumerating one's sins, including the circumstances, is a necessary humiliation. It forces the penitent to be honest with himself.
That’s correct what you did was prudent to the sacrament. But your case was not what in the context of what Pope Francis was saying either, so it seems that the author has overblown the case here.
Stultus papa
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