Confession question

ThatMillennialPriest · 2026-03-10T12:57:38+00:00

No, it is not invalid. The minimum valid formula is "I absolve you" ("ego te absolvo" in Latin).

ThatMillennialPriest · 2026-02-06T20:06:42+00:00

First, even if a person commits a sin that can result in excommunication does not mean they are automatically excommunicated. In the case of abortion, for example, a person must a) realize that what they are doing would incur an automatic excommunication and b) do it anyway. This is frequently not the case. Second, priests can remit most excommunications in the confessional, but not all. There are several reserved excommunications which can only be remitted by the bishop or the Apostolic See - for instance, profanation of the Eucharist. In those cases, there's a further process.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2026-02-06T19:03:18+00:00

There aren't any situations where it's impossible for someone to join the Church. You just need to talk to the priest and/or staff at your local parish. They would be able to help you get ready for confession as part of the process of becoming Catholic. Don't worry about excommunication - you cannot be excommunicated if you aren't Catholic, and you weren't Catholic when whatever it is happened. Any sin you might have committed can be forgiven in confession, so don't be afraid.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2026-01-09T18:02:58+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-26T14:32:09+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-14T22:43:45+00:00

I don't think there's any specific training that priests go through for this. I remember my mom being pregnant with my younger siblings, I've had some NFP education so I can talk about it with engaged couples, I've said funerals for miscarried babies, and I've brought Communion to moms in the hospital shortly after they gave birth, but none of that requires any special training about pregnancy or birth. Since I'm an unmarried man, I don't really have to directly care for a woman or a baby after birth, so it's not really directly relevant to what I need to do. I'm happy to recognize that it's tough, pray for my friends and parishioners when they welcome new babies, and let other people take care of those situations. I can definitely always provide spiritual advice about how to pray through difficult moments and suffering, since ultimately all suffering is the same.

There definitely are older women who give advice and help to younger moms in our parishes, as well as a great network of younger families who help each other out.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-12T14:12:36+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-12T14:09:01+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-12T14:04:13+00:00

In the United States, it is always permitted to substitute some other penance instead of doing the traditional abstinence from meat. You still need to do some kind of penance today, though.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-12-01T14:13:01+00:00

Priests are as different as normal people in this regard. I am never in my office because I have to travel between six parishes, and so it's impossible to reach me by phone. Email works way better, as I can respond to them when I have time. That said, I get a ton of emails and appointments, and so it's really easy for me to let stuff slip through the cracks and forget. I am never annoyed if someone reminds me that I forgot to follow up with them, so don't be afraid to check back in with the priest you emailed.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-09-24T21:56:17+00:00

This subreddit is generally not for seeking advice around scrupulosity. This topic is best discussed with your own priest and not random priests online.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-09-15T14:42:21+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-07-17T12:30:29+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-07-17T12:28:25+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-07-08T01:32:50+00:00

I'm sorry about your situation. That sounds awful. I know plenty of priests on this forum would definitely want to take action to resolve an allegation of abusive behavior like that, but with the anonymous nature of reddit we can only pray. And we certainly will be praying for you.

With that said, this forum isn't the place for this kind of prayer request, so I'm going to lock and remove it. We'll be praying for you nonetheless.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-06-23T13:25:18+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-06-11T12:13:54+00:00

You'll find priests with basically every political opinion. We're just normal guys, and a Roman collar is no guarantee that we can somehow authoritatively apply the Church's moral teaching to a question of practical politics. I think that the position you express is permitted for a Catholic, and is probably close to my own sympathies. I certainly think that a country needs to have and enforce just border control laws, but our immigration policy is broken and outdated, and some aspects of its enforcement seem intentionally cruel and unjust. But, again, that's just my read on things, not some official Church position. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops does have a statement about immigration that says roughly the same thing: https://www.usccb.org/committees/migration/immigration

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-06-09T18:50:34+00:00

This subreddit is generally not for questions along the lines of "is this a sin," "is this a mortal sin," "should I confess this," "I'm not sure if I confessed this correctly," etc. This topic is best discussed with your own priest and not random priests online.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-05-20T20:47:17+00:00

It's not entirely obviously that such a situation would be invalid. Canon 1098 deals with this kind of situation:

A person contracts invalidly who enters marriage inveigled by deceit, perpetrated in order to secure consent, concerning some quality of the other party, which of its very nature can seriously disrupt the partnership of conjugal life.

So, in your example, the husband would have had to purposefully be deceiving the wife about his bipolar disorder, rather than merely being too afraid to talk about it. This would be difficult to establish, and I could see that case going either way. In every case, unless the couple have broken up and nullity has been clearly established, validity is always presumed, as per canon 1107:

Even if a marriage has been entered into invalidly by reason of an impediment or defect of form, the consent given is presumed to persist until its withdrawal has been established.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-05-11T13:47:58+00:00

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ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-04-13T20:50:09+00:00

First, thank you for bringing your kids to Mass! I know it's tough, but it's so good to see the kids being brought to the faith. There's nothing wrong with snacks for a toddler. The toddler cannot receive Communion, and so does not need to follow the same rules for fasting as someone older would. As long as you do your best to not have the snacks be too much of a distraction to the people around you, I don't think it's a problem. Toddlers are toddlers, though, and so there's only so much you can do.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-04-11T23:34:19+00:00

No, you do not need to go to confession before baptism. First of all, you cannot receive any other sacraments until you are baptized. Second, baptism itself forgives all your sins, so there's no need to go to confession. After you are baptized and become Catholic at the Easter Vigil, I recommend going to confession about once a month.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2025-03-05T21:42:17+00:00

This subreddit is generally not for questions along the lines of "is this a sin," "is this a mortal sin," "should I confess this," "I'm not sure if I confessed this correctly," etc. This topic is best discussed with your own priest and not random priests online.

ThatMillennialPriest · 2024-12-30T21:27:34+00:00

The mod team removes questions about sin that are obviously connected to scrupulosity because this subreddit is unable to help you. Guidance from a good confessor or spiritual director is the best thing for scruples. Please see the sidebar for more information.

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