do you go to hell if the priest you've been confessing your sins all your life is a phony? assuming you die before your priest does, how would your sins be forgiven?
2007-11-26 04:33:51 · 14 answers · asked by just curious (A.A.A.A.) 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
mike, then what's the point of confession?
2007-11-26 04:37:43 · update #1
Great question....
What if the New Testament that all Christians rely on for salvation, was chosen by men who were ungodly, and specific books were left out that had the true path to salvation?
2007-11-26 04:37:40 · answer #1 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Assuming the priest had been properly ordained, there's no problem, as the spiritual condition of the priest has nothing at all to do with the privileges he exercises.
If the priest was actually a fake, having never been ordained to the priesthood, things would be more problematic, and one would need to take all possible steps to redo what the phony priest had done, at least in terms of the sacraments.
If that wasn't possible for some reason, it's clear that the sins had already been confessed, God had already heard the confession, and God would certainly take all that into account, on Judgment Day.
2007-11-26 13:38:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No you would not. Our sins are forgiven by Christ (exactly as the Protestants teach) not by the priest himself. God does not hold us accountable for the sins of others. The point of confession is to allow us to be open with others and ourselves. It is important because then we are dealing with ourselves as we really are and not in an ineffective fake and delusional manner. We Catholics are allowed to admit we are as sinful and messed up as anyone else instead of pretending to lead unrealistic puritanical lifestyles and hiding our sins from all others ( or pretending we never sin).
2007-11-26 12:39:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not catholic. However, it doesn't matter if you're professing your sins to a priest. A priest cannot get you to heaven. A priest cannot save your soul. God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins & if we ask him into our hearts & ask for salvation & confess our sins to HIM- only then are we saved. No mortal man can forgive you of your sins- even if he is a priest.
2007-11-26 12:38:22 · answer #4 · answered by Gypsydayne 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No.
The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."
When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.
Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.
Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)
Oral confessing of sins is recommended over and over in both the Old and New Testaments:
+ James 5:16
+ Acts 19:18
+ Matthew 3:5-6
+ Mark 1:5
+ 1 Timothy 6:12
+ 1 John 1:9
+ Numbers 5:6-7
+ Nehemiah 9:2
+ Sirach 4:26
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.
Remember all sacraments are encounters with God. This sacrament is a healing encounter between God and the penitent.
For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1422 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm
With love in Christ.
2007-11-27 01:36:03 · answer #5 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christ works through the priest. The priest acts in persona Christi. The sacrament is still made valid even if the priest is in serious sin
2007-11-26 12:45:27 · answer #6 · answered by Gods child 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no point to confessing to a sinful priest. We only need to acknowledge our sins to God not to be saved but because we ARE saved.
2007-11-26 12:39:12 · answer #7 · answered by gtahvfaith 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't agree with confessions at all it is completely
unacceptable in Islam , no what whoever he is has the right to
forgive our sins it is only God who has the authority to do so
. Our sins will surely be forgiven if we ask forgiveness from
God not from any body else (fantastic)!!
2007-11-26 12:53:15 · answer #8 · answered by simplicity 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A phony priest in a phony religion? What a paradox!
2007-11-27 13:17:15 · answer #9 · answered by timbers 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No. The act of confession is simply a gesture of atonement that became an obligatory ritual within the Catholic church.
2007-11-26 12:56:43 · answer #10 · answered by philosophyangel 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋