VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter in the Form of Motu Proprio 'Misericordia Dei' on Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. In the Letter, dated April 7, Divine Mercy Sunday, the Pope affirmed: "I decree that everything I have set down in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio shall have full and lasting force and be observed from this day forth, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary. All that I have decreed in this Letter is, by its nature, valid for the venerable Oriental Catholic Churches in conformity with the respective Canons of their own Code."
Following are excerpts:
"Through the centuries, the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance has developed in different forms, but it has always kept the same basic structure: it necessarily entails not only the action of the minister ' only a Bishop or priest, who judges and absolves, tends and heals in the name of Christ ' but also the actions of the penitent: contrition, confession and satisfaction."
"In order that the minister of the Sacrament may know the dispositions of penitents with a view to granting or withholding absolution and imposing a suitable penance, it is necessary that the faithful, as well as being aware of the sins they have committed, of being sorry for them and resolved not to fall into them again,() should also confess their sins. In this sense, the Council of Trent declared that it is necessary 'by divine decree to confess each and every mortal sin'. ... Since, therefore, the integral confession of serious sins is by divine decree a constitutive part of the Sacrament, it is in no way subject to the discretion of pastors (dispensation, interpretation, local customs, etc.)."
"In the present circumstances of the care of souls and responding to the concerned requests of many Brothers in the Episcopate, I consider it useful to recall some of the canonical laws in force regarding the celebration of this Sacrament and clarify certain aspects of them. ... This seems especially necessary, given that in some places there has been a tendency to abandon individual confession and wrongly to resort to 'general' or 'communal' absolution. In this case general absolution is no longer seen as an extraordinary means to be used in wholly exceptional situations."
"Thus, after consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and after hearing the views of venerable Brother Cardinals in charge of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, ... I decree the following:
"1. Ordinaries are to remind all the ministers of the Sacrament of Penance that the universal law of the Church, applying Catholic doctrine in this area, has established that:
"a) 'Individual and integral confession and absolution are the sole ordinary means by which the faithful, conscious of grave sin, are reconciled with God and the Church; only physical or moral impossibility excuses from such confession, in which case reconciliation can be obtained in other ways' (Can. 960).
"b) Therefore, 'all those of whom it is required by virtue of their ministry in the care of souls are obliged to ensure that the confessions of the faithful entrusted to them are heard when they reasonably ask, and that they are given the opportunity to approach individual confession, on days and at times set down for their convenience'. (Can. 986, 1.)"
"2. Local Ordinaries, and parish priests and rectors of churches and shrines, should periodically verify that the greatest possible provision is in fact being made for the faithful to confess their sins."
"3. Since 'the faithful are obliged to confess, according to kind and number, all grave sins committed after Baptism of which they are conscious after careful examination and which have not yet been directly remitted by the Church's power of the keys, nor acknowledged in individual confession' (Can. 988, 1), any practice which restricts confession to a generic accusation of sin or of only one or two sins judged to be more important is to be reproved."
"4. In the light of and within the framework of the above norms, the absolution of a number of penitents at once without previous confession, as envisaged by Can. 961 of the Code of Canon Law, is to be correctly understood and administered. Such absolution is in fact 'exceptional in character' and 'cannot be imparted in a general manner unless:
"1. the danger of death is imminent and there is not time for the priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents;
"2. a grave necessity exists, that is, when in light of the number of penitents a supply of confessors is not readily available to hear the confessions of individuals in an appropriate way within an appropriate time, so that the penitents would be deprived of sacramental grace or Holy Communion for a long time through no fault of their own; it is not considered sufficient necessity if confessors cannot be readily available only because of the great number of penitents, as can occur on the occasion of some great feast or pilgrimage'.
"With reference to the case of grave necessity, the following clarification is made:
"a) It refers to situations which are objectively exceptional, such as can occur in mission territories or in isolated communities of the faithful, where the priest can visit only once or very few times a year, or when war or weather conditions or similar factors permit.
"b) The two conditions set down in the Canon to determine grave necessity are inseparable."
"c) The first condition, the impossibility of hearing confessions 'in an appropriate way' 'within an appropriate time', refers only to the time reasonably required for the elements of a valid and worthy celebration of the Sacrament."
"d) The second condition calls for a prudential judgement in order to assess how long penitents can be deprived of sacramental grace for there to be a true impossibility as described in Can. 960, presuming that there is no imminent danger of death."
"e) It is not acceptable to contrive or to allow the contrivance of situations of apparent grave necessity, ... still less because of penitents' preference for general absolution, as if this were a normal option equivalent to the two ordinary forms set out in the Ritual.
"f) The large number of penitents gathered on the occasion of a great feast or pilgrimage, or for reasons of tourism or because of today's increased mobility of people, does not in itself constitute sufficient necessity.
"5. Judgement as to whether there exist the conditions required by Can. 961 1, 2 is not a matter for the confessor but for 'the diocesan Bishop who can determine cases of such necessity in the light of criteria agreed upon with other members of the Episcopal Conference' (Can.961, 2).
"6. Given the fundamental importance of full harmony among the Bishops' Conferences of the world in a matter so essential to the life of the Church, the various Conferences, observing Can. 455 2 of the Code of Canon Law, shall send as soon as possible to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments the text of the norms which they intend to issue or update in the light of this Motu Proprio on the application of Can. 961."
"7. As regards the personal disposition of penitents, it should be reiterated that:
"a) 'For the faithful to avail themselves validly of sacramental absolution given to many at one time, it is required that they not only be suitably disposed but also at the same time intend to confess individually the serious sins which at present cannot be so confessed' (Can. 962, 1).
"b) As far as possible, including cases of imminent danger of death, there should be a preliminary exhortation to the faithful 'that each person take care to make an act of contrition' (Can.962, 2).
"c) It is clear that penitents living in a habitual state of serious sin and who do not intend to change their situation cannot validly receive absolution.
"8. The obligation 'to confess serious sins at least once a year' (Can. 989) remains, and therefore 'a person who has had serious sins remitted by general absolution is to approach individual confession as soon as there is an opportunity to do so before receiving another general absolution, unless a just cause intervenes' (Can. 963).
"9. Concerning the place and confessional for the celebration of the Sacrament, it should be remembered that:
"a) 'the proper place to hear sacramental confessions is a church or an oratory' (Can. 964 1) though it remains clear that pastoral reasons can justify celebrating the Sacrament in other places (Cf. Can. 964, 3).
"b) confessionals are regulated by the norms issued by the respective Episcopal Conferences, who shall ensure that confessionals are located 'in an open area' and have 'a fixed grille', so as to permit the faithful and confessors themselves who may wish to make use of them to do so freely."
LIT;SACRAMENT PENANCE;...;...;VIS;20020502;Word: 1520;
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