Dear Father,
Normally I go to Confession at my parish. But I was at St. XYZ recently and went to Confession to a priest who made up a prayer of absolution. I know it was made up because all he said was “God forgives you. Go in peace.” This is not the first time that this type of thing has happened to me. Is this allowed? If not, am I forgiven? What should I do?
-Remito
Dear Remito,
It’s difficult enough for many people to go to confession; I’ve never understood why a priest would make it harder than it needs to be. I’m very sorry for your experiences of improper absolution.
To your first question: no, plain and simple. As Vatican II taught, no priest is permitted to “add, remove or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.” I don’t think that the Council could be any clearer on this instruction. Much may have changed liturgically over the decades since the Council but not this.
It’s true that in some places in various ritual books, there is an instruction that the celebrant may use “these or similar words.” But this never applies to the actual sacramental formulae. The words by which someone is baptized cannot be changed under any circumstances whatsoever. The same is true of the words of consecration of the Holy Eucharist and for every sacrament, including confession or penance.
The essence of the formula for a valid absolution in the Roman Catholic Church is “And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The ritual book even prints those words in capital letters so that no priest can miss them.
If a priest doesn’t think he wants to give absolution to a person going to confession, then he should tell that penitent that he is not going to give absolution and why not. But it’s not a matter of making up some other words for whatever reason.
The Church safeguards her authority to determine what makes for a valid sacrament. This is because the sacraments are so essential to our getting to heaven to enjoy eternal life. Only the Church has this authority because it was given to her by Christ, her head, her Lord and God. The sacraments are the actions of God, particularly through the ministry of priests. The Church wants what Christ wants: for all of us to enjoy the beatific vision, to gaze upon the Blessed Trinity for all eternity in the company of the saints.
When a priest makes up his own words in the sacraments, he is not really performing the sacrament. If he’s not performing the sacrament, then whatever the sacrament was supposed to do is not done. In the case of the Eucharist, the failure to use the words that the Church uses means that the bread stays just bread and the wine stays just wine. There is no Body and Blood of Christ. In the case of penance, when the priest fails to use the words of the Church, then there is no absolution of any sin. There is no sacrament. There is no sacramental grace.
That brings me to your next question: Were you forgiven? It’s a kind of yes and no answer. Without the proper absolution, you weren’t absolved sacramentally. However, we also know that as soon as we repent of our sins with the intention of confessing our serious sins in confession, God forgives us. God loves to forgive repentant sinners who go to confession.
Notice the conditional note I mentioned. When we are sorry for our sins, our sorrow must include the intention of confessing our sins in the sacrament of confession or penance, also known as the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Why? Because God wants it that way. When Christ instituted the Sacrament of Penance, He gave authority to the Apostles and the Church to make decisions about absolving sins. He didn’t leave the matter to each individual to be his/her own judge.
What if a person committed mortal sins and went to confession but wasn’t absolved properly? If the person confessing mortal sins recognizes that the absolution clearly is wrong, then the penitent should mention it to the priest. Now, I caution you to be careful to be certain that the absolution is invalid. If that doesn’t work, then the penitent should seek another priest and explain the matter.
If the person confessing does not recognize an invalid absolution, the mortal sins may be forgiven, but no sacramental grace is given. The sacramental grace of penance is important because the grace heals the roots of the sin and helps us to avoid future sins. Sacramental grace draws us into deeper union with God. Sacramental grace only comes through the proper administration of the sacraments, authorized by the Church.
While we should be careful not to be too quick to accuse a priest of not doing his sacramental work properly, all priests (and I include myself) must remember that we become holy by faithfully administering the sacraments as the Church desires.