Dying Without Confession

[Sarah147]

Hello,

Could someone please explain what the Church says can happen to people that die with mortal sin and are unable to have confession. What if they [i]want confession? [/i]What if they [i]confess to God directly[/i] as their only resort?

Thank you and God bless you.

[cappie]

Sacramental confession is normatively required for the forgiveness of mortal sins; it is not absolutely required. What this means is that, in extraordinary circumstances, mortal sins can be forgiven outside of sacramental confession. For a Catholic who knows that he should go to confession for forgiveness of his mortal sins, what this means is that if he is dying without access to sacramental confession a Catholic may be forgiven his mortal sins if he repents with true contrition (i.e., sorrow for sin) and has at least the implicit intention to go to sacramental confession should the opportunity be made available.

Also the answer to the question on perfect contrition [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=106957"]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=106957[/url]