I recently found myself defending the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation (aka confession), not for the first time. The issue turned on whether or not a priest confessor was necessary to achieve Gods forgiveness for sins. Roman Catholic doctrine dont indicate a priest is necessary (for forgiveness). This surprises those I speak with - they prefer going directly to God in prayer, dont see why a middleman is needed, and they are prepared to fight over it. Heres the distinction - do you just seek forgiveness, or do you want to do better in the future? Thats where speaking to another person helps. Youre less likely to transgress if you know youll be confessing to an actual person at some point. Ive been paired with non-Catholic accountability partners, which boils down to the same thing.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 20:14:07 +0000