Through a mysterious sharing in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, the Sacrament of Penance overcomes the division between man and God caused by sin. In this precious sacrament the repentant sinner receives, as a gracious gift of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of the Church, that reconciliation, which is “concentrated in Christ himself, the Lamb without blemish offered for our sins (1 Pt 1: 19; Rv 5: 6; 12: 11),” whose “pain and abandonment is thus turned into an inexhaustible source of compassionate and reconciling love”.
For this reason, on the occasion of the ad limina visit to Rome in 1998 of the Bishops of Australia, the Holy Father himself and this Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments made several observations concerning the authentic discipline of the Sacrament of Penance, in particular concerning the altogether exceptional situations apart from which “general absolution” may never be administered.
Since this Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 “implies a rediscovery of the Sacrament of Penance in its profound meaning as an encounter with the One who forgives us through Christ in the Spirit”, this Dicastery has considered it opportune to promote a deepening of an authentic understanding of the sacramental discipline, as well as a correct application of the rite as clearly determined by liturgical and canonical norms. To that end, and after having attentively studied the matter, this Dicastery wishes to state that:
1. The norms in force concerning the Sacrament of Penance are found in the Rite of Penance of the Roman Ritual and in the Code of Canon Law, and are based on divine law, the constant doctrine of the Church and her traditional practice. This Circular Letter recalls those very norms, and therefore, it does not constitute an innovation, nor a modification to the law in force. It does not revoke anything permitted by the dispositions of law in force concerning the Sacrament of Penance. Rather, it recalls those norms concerning the authentic discipline of the Sacrament of Penance which the Holy See, in the Rite of Penance, the Code of Canon Law and several discourses of the Holy Father has already repeatedly expressed. Therefore, it should be clearly stated that there may be no “graduality” in the application of the norm of law. The Congregation for Divine Worship itself has no faculty to deviate from the legislation in force; indeed, its responsibility is to safeguard and promote these norms and, additionally, to assist Bishops in the exercise of their pastoral ministry.
2. The divine constitution of the Sacrament of Penance requires each penitent to confess to a priest all mortal sins, as well as any specifying moral circumstances that he remembers after a diligent examination of conscience. For this reason the Code of Canon Law states clearly that “individual and integral confession and absolution is the sole ordinary means by which a member of the faithful who is conscious of mortal sin is reconciled with God and with the Church. Physical or moral impossibility alone excuses from such confession”. In specifying this obligation, the Church has insistently reiterated that “all the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound faithfully to confess their mortal sins at least once a year”. “Energetic efforts are to be made to avoid any risk that this traditional practice of the Sacrament of Penance fall into disuse.” Indeed, in this Jubilee Year Catholics are called in a particular way “to encounter anew the uniquely transforming experience that is individual, integral confession and absolution”. In accord with the law and practice of the Church, the faithful must orally confess their sins (auricular confession) , except in cases of true physical or moral impossibility (e.g., extreme illness or physical condition inhibiting speech, speech impediment, etc.). This disposition would exclude communal celebrations of the sacrament in which penitents are invited to present a written list of sins to the priest confessor. It should be noted that such innovations also risk compromising the inviolable seal of sacramental confession.
3. In giving consideration to the authentic discipline of the Church concerning “general absolution”, the recent interdicasterial meeting of the Roman Curia with a representation of Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Australia noted that:
. . . communal celebrations have not infrequently occasioned an illegitimate use of general absolution. This illegitimate use, like other abuses in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, is to be eliminated.
The teaching of the Church is reflected in precise terms in the requirements of the Code of Canon Law (cf. esp. canons 959-964). In particular it is clear that “A sufficient necessity is not … considered to exist when confessors cannot be available merely because of a great gathering of penitents, such as can occur on some major feastday or pilgrimage” (canon 961, § 1, 2).
The bishops will exercise renewed vigilance on these matters for the future, aware that departures from the authentic tradition do great wrong to the Church and to individual Catholics.
4. With respect to the administration of “general absolution”, the exclusive authority enjoyed by Diocesan Bishops to determine whether a grave necessity is truly present in a given case in their diocese does not permit them “to change the required conditions, to substitute other conditions for those given, or to determine grave necessity according to their personal criteria however worthy.” Indeed, the Diocesan Bishop makes “this judgement graviter onerata conscientia, and with full respect for the law and practice of the Church.”
from the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 20 March, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph in the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
This update courtesy of Vatican Information Service.
