General Absolution = FORBIDDEN!

Fr. Hulk (Now Fr. Cranky)has another great post up today, this time about Communal Penance services, wherin he defines the different forms.

I'm going to skip to his main point (bolded sections are my emphasis):

The United States recognizes three forms of the process, two of which are allowed, and one which is forbidden except in extreme emergency (civil war, nuclear war, Wrath-of-God type natural disaster when bodies are stacked like cord-wood and there seems no hope for any of us and we want to get right with God before we see Him face-to-face).

Form three is forbidden in the United States except under the conditions listed above. Of course, therefore, this is a common use in the U.S. It is where everyone gathers, listens to some long-winded homily about the eco-sins we have committed against our mother Gaia/Earth and our social sins by not voting for homosexual marriage, and then we all think really haaaaard, and really sorrrrry for our sins, the priest flaps around like a chicken, and presto-chango our sins are gone. We skip happily home having put out no effort other than to drive there and back and feel really good about ourselves. Murder, adultery, abortion, all forgiven with no fuss and no muss. Except for the fact that this type of service is forbidden. Little catch there we don't like to recognize. (I really like typing forbidden in italics!)

So what caused the priest to take it upon himself to offer such illicit activities? Maybe people actually showed up to acknowledge their sins and ask for forgiveness. That's a shocker than can rock Fr. Progressive ('scuse me, just call me Proggy) right back on his heels. Despite his best efforts for years and years to convince people there is no such thing as a real sin, some of they cling to their guns and God (sound familiar) and still think they need forgiving. A real turnout can panic Proggy because he didn't schedule enough priests to be there, and he might have to actually hear confessions completely through the time when Desperate Housewives is showing. Quelle horror! So you think, Proggy flaps, and we all get what we want.

Here's a little thought. What about confessions offered during times when folks actually show up, as well as having a Saturday afternoon/appointment schedule? Oh let's say before and after every Mass? Or if multiple priests are in a parish, it is permissible to offer confessions during Mass itself. Oh, I know the liturgists cringe at such a thought, but if folks are there, and they are sorry, we can offer the opportunity. It does mean extra work though for the priest. He may not get to rush off to breakfast or lunch with the well-heeled parishioners, or dash back up to the rectory for a scotch and soda right away.

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AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

While so many of us are clinging to our guns and our God and recognizing up and down that we NEED individual absolution, that Christ ESTABLISHED the Sacrament that way, there are STILL badly-formed priests out there who find every flimsy excuse in the world to keep people from receiving the mercy of Christ HIMSELF!

I know of a few parishes in our Archdiocese that, at least until last year, were offering this illicit, nay...FORBIDDEN form of the sacrament, in spite of the fact that several successive Bishops have notified them of that fact. (Apparently their vows of obedience to the Bishop weren't considered very important, either....)

And I'll stop there, because I'm going down the bad road to criticizing priests. I'll not name any names or any parishes in order to protect the guilty; for as I've read, it is for God alone to deal with disobedient priests. It is OUR place to pray for them. We can recognize that they are doing something wrong, and we can certainly speak out, write the Bishop, etc., but we can never attack a priest.

Suffice to say, at this point, that it saddens me that people are being lead to believe first that it's just fine and dandy to be disobedient, and secondly, that Jesus didn't have to be taken seriously when He gave the example of personal forgiveness.

Seriously. Search scripture. Just try to find ONE example where Jesus gave "general absolution" to a crowd of people. Where He said "your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more" to an entire group.

It's not in there. In EVERY case, the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus Christ arose out of a PROFOUND PERSONAL ENCOUNTER with Our Lord, and THAT is what He intended when He gave the Apostles (Jn 20:21) the authority to forgive sin in His name.

I, for one, am profoundly grateful for this Sacrament. And I've made difficult confessions, my twelve-year one having even been made face-to-face at a (Form 2) Communal service. It was turning point in my life, it was amazing to realize that in spite of the mess that I was, I was FORGIVEN!

Had I gone to a General Absolution service, I would have left knowing that I wasn't really forgiven because it wasn't personal and there was no emergency.

The only thing Fr. Hulk left out of his post was this: Those who receive General Absolution in an emergency, if they survive that emergency, they remain OBLIGATED to confess any mortal sins...such as adultery, pornography, abortion, murder, sacrilege, etc.

And this is not a punitive thing! It is an expression of the Mercy of God, who knows that if we have committed such sins, we don't just need forgiveness, but we need healing. It is a pastoral concern. There are a lot of wounded people out there who need something more than a magick wand waved over them. They need a personal encounter with Christ, and if they are being denied, they cannot experience true conversion. They cannot fully live up to who they are called to be.

It saddens me so much that disobedient priests cause so much damage to so many people. Pray for them, and pray for all those who have been cut off from God's Mercy, in hopes that they will finally go to Christ's ministers for the healing and forgiveness they desperately need.
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NOTE: Link has been updated as Father's blog has moved.