Catholic Answers Apologist Jimmy Akin answers this “burning” question. Get it? Burning question. ‘Cause the question is about hell so I said “burning?” But Akin’s answer does point out that excommunication while often perceived as a harsh penalty is meant as a loving reminder:
October 11, 2010 at 5:36 am
I don't believe Galileo was excommunicated.
October 11, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Wouldn't the REASON for the excommunication be the true problem? Just wondering….
October 11, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Having for oneself or procuring for another a direct abortion incurs automatic excommunication latae sententiae. What I find interesting is that, because of the sheer, gross, numbers of these excommunications (99% of which are unknown by those who are themselves the excommunicants) in the USA, any priest hearing confession may in so doing lift the excommunication. Bear in mind that normally, confession does not remedy excommunication, because the Sacrament of confession is not available to an excommunicant, just as the other six are not available. The fact that a "lowly" priest is hearing confessions from excommunicants shows how depraved our society is in terms of the prevalence of abortions, and shows to what lengths the Church must go to deal with the resulting moral chaos.
October 11, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Is there hope? of course there is.
The Lord Jesus has the keys for hell check Matthew 25 V41.
The call still goes out " come unto Me even if your sins are as scarlet they can be white as snow.
God Bless every seeking soul.
Graham
October 11, 2010 at 8:23 pm
For me this post was "providential" and much appreciated. As one who was denied absolution over 50 years ago ( the priest basically was in a rage at me…for having stolen money from my mother's closet drawer where she kept large amounts of cash…I took less than $50 ..over a period of time …I was in my teens…and very ashamed to confess this to my parish priest so I went to a nearby cathedral where this happened.I understand that restitution is part of absolution for the sin of theft but that was never stated by the priest..he just raged at me and sent me packing..I was in a total state of shock…and have never been able to return to this sacrament. I have repaid the money several times over..I am sure my mother in heaven has forgiven me..but I have never been sure Jesus could/would do this for me in direct contradiction of the priest who is acting persona Christi in the confessional..I am still not sure but this post gives me hope..I still cannot avail myself of this sacrament for fear of more of the same abuse. I think this has
happened to many older Catholics when they were younger and accounts in part for the "underuse"of this sacrament. Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to vent this..I have not told a soul about this as I am too ashamed..please allow me to use a name other than my own…and thank you for restoring some hope of salvation for me..I
have lived too long with this on my mind and heart and now have a modicum of peace with it.
October 11, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Anonymous,
I think it's time to get over it. The priest was a bit of a nut job; it isn't as if you murdered someone.
Just find a priest who you know is friendly and mentally stable and make an appointment for confession.
October 11, 2010 at 8:53 pm
@Anonymous: Galileo's "excommunication" was overturned and found invalid by JPII. In the end, even an ex communication can be delivered in prideful err. However, this does not make what G did right (and he was NOT excommunicated for his proofs of "heliocentricity" [which, btw, was already an accepted 'theory' in scientific and Roman Catholic academia])
October 12, 2010 at 3:16 am
CAL is on YouTube?!
October 12, 2010 at 5:57 pm
“We exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church, and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance and satisfy the Church.”
From the ritual of Excommunication.
*
October 12, 2010 at 11:03 pm
God forsakes none of by definition. So why should we ever forsake anyone by excommunication? What right do we have to judge our brother? What priest is worthy of denigrating his clients for any sin when he is a sinner himself? Wouldn't that priest want forgiveness for himself? I do not believe that anyone can excommunicate anyone except for Christ himself. Christ alone can leave someone outside of Heaven, because only he can read hearts and minds. As long as you are sorry before you die, you are to be absolved. Any priest who gives you a hard time doesn't deserve to be a confessor and is nothing but another hypocrite.
October 13, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Anonymous @ 3:23 – I'm a younger Catholic and have gone to confession frequently. I have heard stories like yours, and I am happy to say that despite going to many different confessors over this short time (I try to make it a devotional practice to go frequently) I have never had an experience like yours and so many of the stories I have heard.
I would even say that the priests may in some cases be trying to overcome those stereotypes, as the priests hearing confessions are generally very gentle. Sometimes I've even walked out after absolution thinking "really, that's it?" But I remind myself that the Lord is merciful and will forgive all of our sins if only we repent sincerely. For me, confession is a powerful, almost tangible reminder of this – the Lord will set me free with a simple act of contrition and repentance.
Anonymous, turn back to the Lord. He's calling you back right now. Just writing your post was a good first step to healing your relationship with Holy Mother Church. The Lord wants the very best for you and wants all of us to make full use of every sacrament as appropriate. I have been working on this myself and have been praying "Lord, help me to _want_ all of your graces whether I understand it or not. Then, Lord, help me follow through and receive and make use of those graces as you intend."
October 14, 2010 at 3:17 am
Anonymous–since you haven't been to confession in awhile-guess what—THINGS HAVE CHANGED. I have confessed and been told it was not a sin when I knew better. I was once scolded for going to confession too often, and almost accused of sinning for doing so. Some priests are too lax these days- and I wonder how they will one day answer for it. Go to confession don't let this be a roadblock to your salvation.
I promise they won't chase you are threaten your life or whatever you fear.
October 14, 2010 at 5:45 am
First, there is no sin so heinous or terrible that it cannot be confessed and forgiven in the right of penance, including the sin of abortion. A priest is Christ when he is in the confessional, and as such, should always treat the penitent with the same compassion as Jesus treated the woman caught in adultry. When I joined the Church in 1967, one of the things I feared most was having to confess my sins to the PRIEST,not understanding at first that I wasn't confessing to the priest, I was confessing to Jesus himself, and it was Jesus who counselled and consoled me, assigned a penance, and gave me absolution. During all these years I have always been treated with care and compassion. I would hope that the person who dealt with so severely would avail himself/herself to another priest. To be away from the Church for so many years because of the actions of a bad priest is sad indeed, and cries for resolution. Please seek out a priest and be reconciled once again to Christ's Church and once again receive the blessings and the sacraments of the Church once again. Please, Please.
October 14, 2010 at 5:48 am
And, once the sin of abortion is confessed, the priest does have the power to lift the excommunication and restore the penitent to full communion in the Church.
October 16, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Is ex communication a bad thing?