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 TOPIC 20.9
WHO CAN HEAR CONFESSION AND HOW IS CONFESSION ADMINISTERED?

Ref: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1461-1 467; 1480-1484; 1497;
Compendium of the Catechism of the C atholic C hurch, nos. 307-308;
Code of C anon Law, nos. 962, 963, 9 89.
 WHO CAN HEAR CONFESSION AND HOW IS
CONFESSION ADMINISTERED?

Only bishops & priests Priests need faculties The bishop – moderator
can absolve sins. to hear confessions of the penitential discipline
of his particular Church

Can a priest with faculties forgive Ways

any sin? of Administering Penance

How about general absolution? Further norms regarding General Absolution

Only bishops and priests
can absolve sins
Christ promised the power of absolution to the Apostles only
(cf Mt 18:18),and conferred this power to them alone
(cf Jn 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18).

“Since Christ entrusted to His Apostles the ministry of reconciliation, bishops

who are their successors, and priests,
the bishops’ collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry…
By virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, they exercise their power of power of
forgiving sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
CCC 1461, Compendium 307

Ordination to the diaconate

does not confer the power to absolve
 Priests need faculties
to hear confessions
◦ Although the priesthood brings with it
the power to absolve, to exercise this power validly, priests
must have the faculties
to exercise this power from the bishop.

◦ Reason:
by the nature of the institution of the sacrament
by Christ, the absolution of sins is exercised
as a judicial act and requires jurisdiction
to adjudicate.

◦ “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound

in heaven; whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.”
Mt 18:18

◦ “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them;

those you retain, are retained.”
Jn 20:23
 The Bishop –
moderator of the penitential
discipline
of his particular Church
“Forgiveness of sins brings reconciliation with God,
but also with the Church. Since ancient times the
bishop, visible head of a particular Church, has thus
rightfully been considered to be the one who
principally has the power and ministry of
reconciliation: he is the moderator of the penitential
discipline. Priests, his collaborators, exercise it to the
extent that they have received the commission, either
from their bishop (or religious superior) or the Pope,
according to the law of the Church.”
CCC 1462

Priests must first have jurisdiction either

over a determined section of the faithful or over all
of them, following the prescriptions of Church Law.
 Can a priest
with faculties forgive any sin?
“The absolution of certain particularly grave sins (like those punished
by excommunication) is reserved to the Apostolic See or to the local bishop or to priests
who are authorized by them. Any priest, however,
can absolve a person who is in danger of death from any sin
and excommunication.”
Compendium 308

Note:
excommunication impedes a person from receiving the sacraments.

◦ Some censures reserved to the Apostolic See:

◦ a person who throws away the consecrated hosts or retains them for a sacrilegious purpose (can.
1367);
◦ or who uses physical force against the Pope (can. 1370);
◦ or who presumes to absolve an accomplice in a sin against the 6th commandment (can. 1378);
◦ a bishop who consecrates some one a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who
receives consecration from him (can. 1382);
◦ a confessor who directly violates the confessional seal (can. 1388).
 Ways of Administering Penance
“Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful
to reconcile themselves with God and with the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from
this kind of confession.”
CCC, no. 1484

the priest confessors acts as a judge he hears Confession

He is also a physician & spiritual
when he exercises the power in persona Christi,
guide, and is called upon
to forgive, and a judge has to know the and Christ desires to personally
to give the penitent suitable advice and
details of the case before passing encounter the sinner as physician
encouragement;
judgment; and pastor. Cf Lk 15:1-23

“Except for a just reason, confessions are not to be heard elsewhere

than in a confessional fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent and the confessor.”
CCL, can. 964 & 2-3
 How about
general
absolution?
“In case of grave necessity, recourse may be
had… to general confession and general
absolution.
Grave necessity of this sort can arise when there
is imminent danger of death without sufficient
time for the priest(s) to hear each penitent’s
confession (e.g., sinking ship; soldiers about to
be deployed to the battlefield). (It) can also exist
when, given the number of penitents, there are
not enough confessors to hear individual
confessions properly in a reasonable time, so
that the penitents through no fault of their own
would be deprived of (Confession) or Holy
Communion for a long time (e.g., in mission
territories).”
CCC 1483
Further norms regarding General Absolution
“A large gathering of faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages
does not constitute a case of grave necessity.”
CCC, no. 1483
• Reason: no urgent need exists for Confession: people can go to Confession some other time
and are under no obligation to receive Communion at that moment.
• The diocesan bishop is the judge of whether or not the conditions required for general absolution exist,
keeping in mind that general absolution is of an “absolutely exceptional nature” (St. Paul VI).

For a person to validly receive general absolution, he must be truly sorry for his sins
and personally resolved to confess individually the sins absolved through general absolution
CCL, can. 962

Should a person survive the imminent danger of death that justified the general absolution, he would still be
obliged to confess individually all the mortal sins included in that general absolution. He is to do this as soon
as possible, when the next opportunity comes for him to make his confession. In the intervening period, he
may not receive another collective absolution, unless for a just reason, he is impeded from going to individual
confession (CCL, can. 963).

The precept of going to Confession at least once a year

is only fulfilled by means of private, auricular Confession.
 TOPIC 20.9
WHO CAN HEAR CONFESSION AND HOW IS CONFESSION ADMINISTERED?

Ref: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1461-1 467; 1480-1484; 1497;
Compendium of the Catechism of the C atholic C hurch, nos. 307-308;
Code of C anon Law, nos. 962, 963, 9 89.