Confession: the sacrament of reconciliation
According to Garry Wills, the sacrament of confession did not exist in St. Augustine's 4th century any more than the sacrament of matrimony did.
In the early church, a serious offense led to expulsion from the Body of Christ. Such an offender rejoined the Body after a fixed period of humiliation and good behavior, with reduced status (e.g., priests lost their priesthood). One more offense and the sinner was permanently excommunicated. It was the whole community that accepted the sinner back. There was no private confession with a priest who alone might claim the power to forgive sin in secret.
Hans Kung in his book, The Catholic Church: A Short history says that the early church practiced the once-for-all public penance. Auricular confession, as we have today, was propagated in medieval times by Irish-Scottish monks. This could be repeated any number of times and was not tied to a priest.
He further says that the Fourth Ecumenical Council held at the Lateran Palace in 1215, convened by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), confirmed by a decree compulsory confession at least once a year, and if possible, more often. More importantly, it laid down the obligation of confessional secrecy. Canon 21 of the Council says:
"Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion. A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs an automatic excommunication whose lifting is reserved to the Holy See".
According to Garry Wills, the sacrament of confession did not exist in St. Augustine's 4th century any more than the sacrament of matrimony did.
In the early church, a serious offense led to expulsion from the Body of Christ. Such an offender rejoined the Body after a fixed period of humiliation and good behavior, with reduced status (e.g., priests lost their priesthood). One more offense and the sinner was permanently excommunicated. It was the whole community that accepted the sinner back. There was no private confession with a priest who alone might claim the power to forgive sin in secret.
Hans Kung in his book, The Catholic Church: A Short history says that the early church practiced the once-for-all public penance. Auricular confession, as we have today, was propagated in medieval times by Irish-Scottish monks. This could be repeated any number of times and was not tied to a priest.
He further says that the Fourth Ecumenical Council held at the Lateran Palace in 1215, convened by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), confirmed by a decree compulsory confession at least once a year, and if possible, more often. More importantly, it laid down the obligation of confessional secrecy. Canon 21 of the Council says:
"Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion. A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs an automatic excommunication whose lifting is reserved to the Holy See".
No comments:
Post a Comment