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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Confession	joe	Sunday, September 21, 2008
Question: for confession to be valid is it necessary to say the time of last confession? a priest recognized me of having confessed to him 2 weeks before (because the anonymous confession is not available in our parish...) and thought that it was two weeks since my last confession. i planned to tell him that it was a week since my last confession and that i confessed to a different priest but then i just thought that confessing my sin is enough and i think i was also overcome with sorrow for falling again and again...so in the end i was not able to tell him...was my confession valid?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Joe: Not telling when you had last confession does not invalidate the Sacrament, but lying to the priest is a sin, which if grave, would invalidate the Sacrament. Did you lie about when you last had confession? If you lied to this priest, then the issue is whether that lie was grave or venial. You need to discuss this with your priest, or confess this in the Sacrament next time, and ask him if you need to re-confess everything from before. That will depend on whether or not the lie was grave or venial. The priest will be able to determine that. By the way, all parishes MUST give the opportunity for confession behind a screen. If your parish is not doing that then they are violating Church law. Canon Law 964.2 states: The conference of bishops is to establish norms regarding the confessional; it is to take care, however, that there are always confessionals with a fixed grate between the penitent and the confessor in an open place so that the faithful who wish to can use them freely. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary 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

Confession

joe

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Question:

for confession to be valid is it necessary to say the time of last confession?

a priest recognized me of having confessed to him 2 weeks before (because the anonymous confession is not available in our parish...) and thought that it was two weeks since my last confession. i planned to tell him that it was a week since my last confession and that i confessed to a different priest but then i just thought that confessing my sin is enough and i think i was also overcome with sorrow for falling again and again...so in the end i was not able to tell him...was my confession valid?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Joe:

Not telling when you had last confession does not invalidate the Sacrament, but lying to the priest is a sin, which if grave, would invalidate the Sacrament. Did you lie about when you last had confession?

If you lied to this priest, then the issue is whether that lie was grave or venial. You need to discuss this with your priest, or confess this in the Sacrament next time, and ask him if you need to re-confess everything from before. That will depend on whether or not the lie was grave or venial. The priest will be able to determine that.

By the way, all parishes MUST give the opportunity for confession behind a screen. If your parish is not doing that then they are violating Church law. Canon Law 964.2 states:

The conference of bishops is to establish norms regarding the confessional; it is to take care, however, that there are always confessionals with a fixed grate between the penitent and the confessor in an open place so that the faithful who wish to can use them freely.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

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