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Author Topic: Bad Confession Experience  (Read 4800 times)

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Bad Confession Experience
« on: April 02, 2013, 05:04:29 PM »
I read in a confessors manual that when confessing extremely shameful and embarrassing sins, the confession is perfectly valid if the penitent writes these types of sins on a piece of paper and lets the priest read it.  The penitent then must say "I accuse myself" of this or these sins.  

Yesterday I made general confession of the sins of my entire life.  I began with the above  practice.  Some sins of mine were so shameful that I would have had a very hard time verbalizing them and the last thing I wanted to do was commit a sacrilege.  However since I had four full pages of sins to confess, the priest rather hastily grabbed hold of the papers and said that since he was a speed reader it would be better if he just read all my sins and that if anything needed clarification he would ask questions.  The only thing that registered on my brain at that moment was a confession in which the priest asks questions and the penitent gives honest answers.  It did not occur to me until afterwards that this particular confession was most likely invalid.  From my understanding, the only time this practice is allowed if if the person is mute and I'm not mute.  I have no speech impediments at all.

I have to confess that I have suffered from terrible bouts of scrupulosity (I didn't decide this on my own, three priests have told me this) as well as OCD. All but a few of these sins have already been confessed and absolved.  My sole reason for even making this general confession was to correct any errors regarding material integrity that might have occurred with previous confessions so that I could enjoy compete peace of mind knowing that I had confessed everything to the best of my ability.

I'm wondering now if I should find another priest and do the whole confession over or just confess those sins that I'm certain were never confessed before.  I wonder too that since technically it is permissible to let a priest read your shameful sins if that part of the confession is valid.

Here is a link to the Confessors manual which was published in 1905. There is no question that it is perfectly legitimate to write shameful sins on paper and let the priest read it.

http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/caspar-erich-schieler/theory-and-practice-of-the-confessional--a-guide-in-the-administration-of-the-s-hci/1-theory-and-practice-of-the-confessional--a-guide-in-the-administration-of-the-s-hci.shtml


Bad Confession Experience
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2013, 05:43:47 PM »
Another Confession question: If a priest tells you," I forgive these sins, and any others you may have forgotten about" do you have to confess again if you remember one? Sorry to piggyback on the OP- but it made me think.


Bad Confession Experience
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2013, 05:46:05 PM »
Quote from: 1st Mansion Tenant
Another Confession question: If a priest tells you, I forgive these sins, and any others you may have forgotten about" do you have to confess again if you remember one?


A priest has answered this same question for me in the affirmative; your confession is still valid, and you are still in the state of grace; but you must make an effort to bring the forgotten sins up in your next confession.

Bad Confession Experience
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2013, 05:56:24 PM »
Quote from: s2srea
Quote from: 1st Mansion Tenant
Another Confession question: If a priest tells you, I forgive these sins, and any others you may have forgotten about" do you have to confess again if you remember one?


A priest has answered this same question for me in the affirmative; your confession is still valid, and you are still in the state of grace; but you must make an effort to bring the forgotten sins up in your next confession.


s2srea You're right about this.  If you happen to remember a forgotten mortal sin you must confess it in your next confession.  If through no fault of your own your forget a mortal sin, the absolution covers it.   It is indirectly absolved.  Once remembered it must be confessed in order to be directly absolved.

Bad Confession Experience
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2013, 05:58:02 PM »
I've decided I'm just going to mention this whole incident to my regular confessor this Saturday and see what he says.