Talk:Confession (religion): Difference between revisions

Some information on confession in non-Christian religions would be great, if anybody has it. -- 84.57.26.161 18:58, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

--I know some Buddhist monks confess transgressions, but it's more like the Christian monastic "chapter of faults" than confession. Something on Yom Kippur maybe?--Samuel J. Howard 01:58, Sep 24, 2004 (UTC)

This sacrament was formerly called confession, and many Catholics still use this term, however, it is now doctrinally incorrect.

I have reinserted this statement; it is doctrinally correct and particularly informative, considering that most non-Catholics (and many Catholics) are not aware that the sacrament is no longer called "confession." The proper name for the sacrament is reconciliation. (Pennance is also acceptable.) Please offer a rationale here before removing the statement. -- Essjay · Talk 02:18, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)

This is false; what is meant by the expression "doctrinally incorrect"? I have met many bishops and cardinals, and they all use the word "confession." Most books I have read about the subject frequently refer to this sacrament as "confession." Doctrinally incorrect? No, maybe a few liberal priests and Catholics say that the sacrament is "no longer called" confession, but this is not true. This statement is false.

Wrong. The sacrament is often called "confession" but confession is only one aspect of the sacrament. It has been renamed to emphasize that there other aspects of the sacrament; it is a reconciliation with God. I offer the following examples:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1210: Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 4: THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION

The Code of Canon Law: Title IV. The Sacrament of Penance

Can. 987 To receive the salvific remedy of the sacrament of penance, a member of the Christian faithful must be disposed in such a way that, rejecting sins committed and having a purpose of amendment, the person is turned back to God.

"I wrote in my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte: “I am asking for renewed pastoral courage in ensuring that the day-to-day teaching of Christian communities persuasively and effectively presents the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation." -Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter in the Form of Motu Proprio Misericordia Dei on Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.

"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." -Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Circular Letter concerning the integrity of the Sacrament of Penance.

Unless you consider Pope John Paul II and Francis Cardinal Arinze of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Vatican's chief official in the area of the sacraments, to be "a few liberal priests," you're among those who aren't aware of the change. It's a very common mistake. The sacrament's official name is penance or reconciliation, or both, never "confession." One may still "go to confession," hear "confessions," and "confess thier sins," but you cannot receive the "sacrament of confession." The name of the sacrament is "Penance and Reconciliation," properly shortened to "Penance" or "Reconciliation."

If you'd like to start an RfC on the matter, I'd be happy to offer the community my evidence; I have, after all, been declared "one of Wikipedia's foremost experts on Catholicism." -- Essjay · Talk 04:10, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)