Argument With Priest In Confession

[Guest]

Tonight the Priest told me venial sins aren't forgiven at Mass. That they need to be Confessed in Confession before receiving the Eucharist. This started when I asked if the culapibilty of one of my grave/mortal sins may be reduced because of certain conditions therefore becoming venial forgiven at Mass not requiring Confession. I explained the Catechism says this is the case sometimes. At a past Confession a African Priest referred to this particular sin as habitual in my situation. At the time I didn't ask him if that meant it was now venial and I could avoid confessing it before receiving Communion. But I'm 90% sure that's what he was implying. To be on the safe side I decided to still confess it. The Priest tonight said it must be confessed every time. Ok fine. No problem. He is implying then it's a mortal sin for me every time. But he goes on to state even if the culpability was lessened and it was venial it would still require me to come to Confession to be forgiven and receive Communion. I explained to him he was wrong on this but he kept insisting he was correct. He says sins are never forgiven at Mass. I finally gave up. I like this Asain Priest. He gives funny homilies. Not in a bad way either in my opinion. I see the joy and love of Christ in him. Yet he doesn't have this basic issue correct on venial/and mortal sins. He's about as wrong as you could possibly be. What should I do? I don't think I will go to Confession to him again. Should I relay this info to the main Pastor or just let it go?

Edited January 14, 2017 by Guest

[Peace]

Let's say the sin is masturbation (for example) and habit causes the sin not to be mortal. I think you still should confess it because it is grave matter. You, me, and  various priests can look at the situation and speculate as to whether it is mortal or venial but only God knows for certain. So if it is objectively grave matter I think it should be confessed, because you don't know for sure that it is venial.

I would go with what your confessesor said, but speak to the pastor at your parish if you have concerns about the advice he gave you.

[Guest]

Just now, Peace said:

Let's say the sin is masturbation (for example) and habit causes the sin not to be mortal. I think you still should confess it because it is grave matter. You, me, and  various priests can look at the situation and speculate as to whether it is mortal or venial but only God knows for certain. So if it is objectively grave matter I think it should be confessed, because you don't know for sure that it is venial.

I would go with what your confessesor said, but speak to the pastor at your parish if you have concerns about the advice he gave you.

I tend to agree with this. But here's the thing. The Catechism specifically addresses this sin and says culapibilty can be lessened to nil because of several factors. So I would think if the Priest tells you it's indeed venial because of certain factors then you could go with that and if you didn't make it to Confession before Mass still receive Communion. You say speak to the Pastor if I have concerns. Would it be sinful or would it be valid to go back to the African Priest and ask if when he called it habitual he was saying it was reduced to a venial sin? Are we allowed to go to a different Priest after one tells us to do things a certain way and get new advice? Or are we bound to what the first Priest said? Even in this case when he doesn't understand a basic teaching of venial and mortal sins and how they are forgiven. 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Guest

[Guest]

In Grave Matter I would always confess without digging into details of full knowledge and full consent........just to be on the safe side.  We do not have to confess venial sins before going to Holy Communion.

If a priest in Confession told me an incident of grave matter was not mortally sinful:  I would still mention the point of grave matter in Confession should it occur at a later point and before going to Holy Communion.

I think that full knowledge and full consent while absolutely valid could be a something of a minefield for anyone but a moral theologian.

Over and above all that, I would confidently rest and trust that Jesus indeed knows the whole by both confessor and penitent.  He knows the intentions of my heart.

If a priest really has confused me, I would seek out other sound advice until I was not longer confused. It would not be on the internet, but face to face with whoever by an appointment.

Edit:  We can confess venial sins if we choose to do so.

Before making private vows for life, I not only spoke with a priest who knew me very well.  I did not have an SD at the time.   After that I had an appointment with a theologian at our then Catholic University to ensure I understood rightly private vows to the evangelical counsels.

[CatherineM]

So you question your confessor's discretion in reading the severity of your sin, and yet also question the ability of Pope Francis to decide the severity of people under his direction. Perhaps you need to go to seminary so you can run for Pope and judge all of our sins. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CatherineM said:

So you question your confessor's discretion in reading the severity of your sin, and yet also question the ability of Pope Francis to decide the severity of people under his direction. Perhaps you need to go to seminary so you can run for Pope and judge all of our sins. 

Not at all. Like I said in original post I was fine with the Priest saying this particular sin is a mortal sin EVERYTIME. Fine with me. What I wasn't ok with was him saying even if it was lessened to a venial sin it would still require Confession. He said no venial sins are forgiven at Mass and they all require Confession. This isn't true. As far as Pope Francis reinstating a Priest who molested boys in Confession and used Scripture to say it was acceptable in God's eyes. Yes I have a real big problem with that. So big it endangers my soul and my strength to want to remain Catholic.

Pedophiles have no place in ministry. It's not ******* rocket science.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Guest