Priest Didn't Say "i Absolve You"

[The Bus Station]

I went to confession on Saturday, and after I had confessed my sins, the priest gave me a penance, said "Through the ministry of the church may God grant you pardon and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," made the sign of the cross, and that was it. He never said "I absolve you from your sins." Was the confession still valid?

[StColette]

The following are responses by Fr. Cappie from previous Q&A questions regarding valid Confession.

[quote name='cappie' post='1167081' date='Jan 16 2007, 04:29 PM']From the Rite of Penance:

Penitent’s Prayer and the Priest’s Absolution

19. Next, through a prayer for God’s pardon the penitent expresses contrition and the resolution to begin a new life. It is advantageous for this prayer to be based on the words of Scripture.

Following the penitent’s prayer, the priest extends his hands, or at least his right hand, over the head of the penitent and pronounces the formulary of absolution, in which [b]the essential words are: I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.[/b] As he says the final phrase the priest makes the sign of the cross over the penitent. The form of absolution indicates that the reconciliation of the penitent comes from the mercy of the Father; it shows the connection between the reconciliation of the sinner and the paschal mystery of Christ; it stresses the role of the Holy Spirit in the forgiveness of sins; finally, it underlines the ecclesial aspect of the sacrament, because reconciliation with God is asked for and given through the ministry of the Church.

The priest did not follow the essential words sorry[/quote]


[quote name='cappie' post='1866926' date='May 14 2009, 02:17 AM']The act of contrition does not determine validity, the interior disposition of true contrition is necessary though.

The penance does not relate directly to validity.

Both of these are part of the sacrament and should not be omitted, but do not affect the validity

"The form of the Sacrament of penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in those words of the minister "I absolve thee, etc."; to these words indeed, in accordance with the usage of Holy Church, certain prayers are laudably added, but they do not pertain to the essence of the form nor are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament" (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, c. 3).

The words "Ego te absolvo..." are absolutely essential to the validity of the sacrament. The priest must say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father…”.

In this case God would certainly restore a sincere penitent to the state of grace in spite of the priest's omission. But this would not remove the obligation of confessing a mortal sin again and receiving absolution. It would not be necessary in the case of venial sin.

I would suggest that you go to confession at your earliest convenience and tell the priest what has happened. He will guide you.[/quote]

[Pontifex]

That confession is not vaild unfortunately.

The words "Te Absolvo" must be in there somewhere, I have nevery really understood why some of the brothers can't just do what they are told to do.