In doing a little schedule-shopping, I can’t help noticing that the reputedly lib Catholic church near my house uses the term “Reconciliation” instead of “Confession”.
I know that the relevant passage of the Catechism refers to reconciling the penitant sinner with the Church through the sacrament, but my weasle-words radar starts pinging at this label. It suggests more of a misunderstanding to be ironed out, rather than a frank acceptance of responsibility for sinfulness and seeking pardon of same.
Or am I just being prickly?
How widespread is this practice of calling it “Reconciliation” anyway?
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January 14, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Flo Gin Fizz
Reconciliation is a post-Vatican II term. But it really does not signify much relating to either liberal or conservative Church views. Reconciliation is used more or less as official language while most Catholics still refer to it as Confession. Of course, one of the reasons most Catholics call it Confession is because those Catholics who still frequent Confession are, for the most part, of a more conservative bent. It seems that the more liberal you are, the less likely you are to go to Confession (even if you’re told it’s Reconciliation). Evidently, the more liberal your leaning, the less likely you are to believe that you’re ever in a state of serious (mortal) sin that would actually require confession. So, the bottom line is this: You can feel free to call it either Reconciliation or Confession. You are not likely to be contradicted by anyone in the Church. The very fact that you are practicing the sacrament will demonstrate that you are an orthodox Catholic in the first place, whatever you may call it.
January 15, 2009 at 12:08 am
Little Gidding
I tracked the progress of how the last two pastors at our church were bringing back the parish, in steps, from the wilderness, by the way the weekly bulletin changed from listing times for “reconciiiation,” to “confessions,” then finally, to “penance.”
January 15, 2009 at 12:16 am
Anchovy
Rather like theories of the atonement, each term highlights a specific aspect of the sacrament. They’re all accurate as far as they go, but no one of them sums it all up.
January 15, 2009 at 12:57 pm
The Abbot
My habit is to refer to it as “confession”, but some say that is because I am obsessed with my own sinfulness. Which is itself sinful, as it stems from a kind of pride.
From the CCC:
1423 It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father5 from whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
1424 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a “confession” – acknowledgment and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent “pardon and peace.
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the live of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to God.”
He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go; first be reconciled to your brother.”
January 15, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Naked Villainy » Blog Archive » Confession. Penance. Apostolic Penitentiary.
[...] Apostolic Penitentiary. Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader had not weighed in on Robbo’s recent post concerning the appelation of the sacrament known as Confession, Penance, o… This is mainly because your Maximum Leader (in addition to being a bad man) has used all three [...]
January 16, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Kathy
I first went to confession when I was in second grade, and I still have the book from my training, which is large, silver and across the cover has printed in a poncy font “The Sacrament of Reconciliation.” However, we all called it “confession” at the time. How could we not? That’s what our families and teachers called it. We were going into the “confessional” to list out our sins. It simply made more sense. No one I know in my lifetime has ever said they’re going to church to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I still call it confession and everyone I know still does, even if some of them haven’t been in a while. It’s like a pesky nickname that has stuck.
Stop being prickly. It’s no big whoop. It’s just one of those insider Catholic thing to which you’re being introduced.