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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
conditions for absolution in case of theft	Sam	Thursday, August 7, 2008
Question: About 10 years ago, a close friend of mine, obtained over 1 million dollars by means of a fraud perpetrated over the internet. I will not elaborate on this for obvious reasons. I am certainly not saying that this extenuates the scale of the crime, but the effects of his fraud were spread very thinly over vast numbers of people. He insists that no one single person lost more than $2. Over the past year, I have been bringing him to a Catholic bible study group which I attend, and to make a very long story short, he wants to come into the Faith. He is now an honest family man earning a middle-class income as an engineer. Predictably, he is afraid that if he makes a confession of his past fraudulent activity, the Priest will make absolution contingent on his turning himself in to police and/or other relevant civil authorities. He is also unable to make any direct restitution to those victimized, as they are numerous (in the hundreds of thousands), and as he has already blown all of the proceeds of his fraud living his past "high life". Are his concerns valid? Is it possible to obtain absolution/forgiveness for such a sin, if one is unwilling to turn oneself in to civil legal authorities (he feels unable to take this step as it would separate him from his wife and children for a very long time)?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Sam: Your friend MUST come clean and confess this sin. If he does not then his confession will be invalid and he risks his soul to hell. Thus, regardless of what the priest may assign as penance, he has no choice but to confess it. If, because of the uncertainty of the penance, he decides to not convert to the Church to avoid Confession, he will not be off the hook. To be convinced to convert to the Church and then refuse to do it because he does not want to confess something will also risk his soul to hell. If he does not want to go to hell, this sin MUST be confessed no matter what the penance. Now, with that said, what are the possibilities for penance. In situations where "turning oneself in" would create greater harm than not to himself and others, and the benefit of turning oneself in is minimal or inconsequential in a practical sense to the victims or to society, the priest may not ask that he do that. He needs to trust in God. This will be a test of whether he really loves and trusts God. It is unfortunate to say, but if he decides to not confess over this then he is thumbing his nose at God and telling Him that he does not love Him and does not trust Him. Such rejection of God risks his soul to hell. In all likelihood the priest will probably not make turning himself in as part of the required penance, but your friend must be prepared for the possibility. Which is better anyway, spending 5 years (perhaps parole in 2 years) in man's prison or eternity in the prison of hell? God tells us that "all things work together for good to those who love him". God also tells us that He will not allow anything to come into our lives that we cannot handle. God does not lie. While we must pay for the consequences of our sins, God can bring goodness out of it (lemonade out of the lemons). God will give us the grace to deal with what we have to deal with. NEVER reject God's grace. That is what your friend is proposing for himself. God's grace is greater than any trial that we must suffer. Encourage your friend to go before God in the Sacrament in humility and sorrow for his sin and take his lumps like a man whatever those lumps will be. Do no be Afraid, is the message for him. Trust in God. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary P.S. Should your friend turn himself in for any reason regardless of the Confession issue, be sure he understands that he needs to do that through an attorney. Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

conditions for absolution in case of theft

Sam

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Question:

About 10 years ago, a close friend of mine, obtained over 1 million dollars by means of a fraud perpetrated over the internet. I will not elaborate on this for obvious reasons. I am certainly not saying that this extenuates the scale of the crime, but the effects of his fraud were spread very thinly over vast numbers of people. He insists that no one single person lost more than $2.

Over the past year, I have been bringing him to a Catholic bible study group which I attend, and to make a very long story short, he wants to come into the Faith. He is now an honest family man earning a middle-class income as an engineer.

Predictably, he is afraid that if he makes a confession of his past fraudulent activity, the Priest will make absolution contingent on his turning himself in to police and/or other relevant civil authorities. He is also unable to make any direct restitution to those victimized, as they are numerous (in the hundreds of thousands), and as he has already blown all of the proceeds of his fraud living his past "high life".

Are his concerns valid? Is it possible to obtain absolution/forgiveness for such a sin, if one is unwilling to turn oneself in to civil legal authorities (he feels unable to take this step as it would separate him from his wife and children for a very long time)?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Sam:

Your friend MUST come clean and confess this sin. If he does not then his confession will be invalid and he risks his soul to hell.

Thus, regardless of what the priest may assign as penance, he has no choice but to confess it.

If, because of the uncertainty of the penance, he decides to not convert to the Church to avoid Confession, he will not be off the hook. To be convinced to convert to the Church and then refuse to do it because he does not want to confess something will also risk his soul to hell.

If he does not want to go to hell, this sin MUST be confessed no matter what the penance.

Now, with that said, what are the possibilities for penance. In situations where "turning oneself in" would create greater harm than not to himself and others, and the benefit of turning oneself in is minimal or inconsequential in a practical sense to the victims or to society, the priest may not ask that he do that.

He needs to trust in God. This will be a test of whether he really loves and trusts God. It is unfortunate to say, but if he decides to not confess over this then he is thumbing his nose at God and telling Him that he does not love Him and does not trust Him. Such rejection of God risks his soul to hell.

In all likelihood the priest will probably not make turning himself in as part of the required penance, but your friend must be prepared for the possibility. Which is better anyway, spending 5 years (perhaps parole in 2 years) in man's prison or eternity in the prison of hell?

God tells us that "all things work together for good to those who love him". God also tells us that He will not allow anything to come into our lives that we cannot handle.

God does not lie.

While we must pay for the consequences of our sins, God can bring goodness out of it (lemonade out of the lemons). God will give us the grace to deal with what we have to deal with.

NEVER reject God's grace. That is what your friend is proposing for himself. God's grace is greater than any trial that we must suffer.

Encourage your friend to go before God in the Sacrament in humility and sorrow for his sin and take his lumps like a man whatever those lumps will be.

Do no be Afraid, is the message for him. Trust in God.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

P.S. Should your friend turn himself in for any reason regardless of the Confession issue, be sure he understands that he needs to do that through an attorney.

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum