Absolution

[VoTeckam]

Is it within a priest's authority to refuse absolution in confession. I would suppose that he has proper authority as he is acting in persona christi but is it something that has ever been done with regularity in any given period in the church's history?

[cappie]

Can. 978 §1 In hearing confessions the priest is to remember that he is at once both judge and healer, and that he is constituted by God as a minister of both divine justice and divine mercy, so that he may contribute to the honour of God and the salvation of souls.

§2 In administering the sacrament, the confessor, as a minister of the Church, is to adhere faithfully to the teaching of the magisterium and to the norms laid down by the competent authority.

A priest could refuse absolution only in rare cases, for example, if the person is not sorry for his or her serious sins or has no intention of avoiding them in the future, or when there is no confidence in God's forgiving Spirit. This is what Jesus referred to when he spoke of sin which cannot be forgiven. Unless there is true sorrow, there is no forgiveness. We must have confidence in God's mercy and pray to his Spirit for a contrite heart.

Can. 979 In asking questions the priest is to act with prudence and discretion, taking into account the condition and the age of the penitent, and he is to refrain from enquiring the name of a partner in sin.

Can. 980 If the confessor is in no doubt about the penitent's disposition and the penitent asks for absolution, it is not to be denied or delayed.

Absolution is not a personal favor to be granted or withheld as the priest pleases. I there is no doubt about the penitent's disposition and is asked for absolution, he must give it and not deny or defer it. If he is in doubt or the person is not properly disposed, he should first of all try to bring about the proper frame of mind in the penitent. If he fails in this, he might be obliged to defer or deny absolution in the case otherwise it might be seen as something magical and not dependent on the penitents dispositions.

Can. 987 In order that the faithful may receive the saving remedy of the sacrament of penance, they must be so disposed that, repudiating the sins they have committed and having the purpose of amending their lives, they turn back to God.