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Category Archives: Confession
Can Children Make their First Communion Before their First Confession?
Q: A friend of mine teaches CCD, I think fifth or sixth grade. Mid-year she got a new student who had just moved into town, and she discovered that he had never, ever been to confession! He had made his … Continue reading
Posted in Catholic Education, Confession
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confession, First Communion
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Confession by Appointment and Face-to-Face
Q1: We just moved, and our new parish doesn’t have set confession times. The bulletin says “confessions by appointment.” My wife doesn’t think that’s a violation of our right to receive the sacrament, since the priest will hear our confessions … Continue reading
Posted in Confession, Rights of the Faithful
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confession, confessional
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Is Confession Still an Easter Duty?
Q: When I was a kid, everyone was required during Lent to make his “Easter Duty.” Every parishioner received a card from the parish. When we went to confession before Easter, we handed the card to the priest. By Easter … Continue reading
Posted in Confession
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confession, Easter, Lent
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Can a Priest Ever Reveal What is Said in Confession? (Part I)
Q: I know that a priest who hears confessions is forbidden to reveal their contents to others. But does that hold if someone admits in the confessional that he’s sexually molesting children? Isn’t the priest breaking the law if he … Continue reading
Posted in Confession
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confessional, priest
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Confession and General Absolution
Q: Last year, I visited my relatives at Christmas time, and we all went to their parish to a communal penance service before Christmas. There were probably almost a hundred people there, and only one priest. He didn’t hear each … Continue reading
Posted in Confession, Rights of the Faithful, Sacraments
Tagged absolution, canon law, Catholic, confession, general absolution
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