The Bishop Writes

(From the Dec. 5, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)

In the Oct. 6 issue of the magazine America, Cardinal Avery Dulles SJ has an interesting article on forgiveness. At the beginning of the article he shares a comment from the theologian Martin Marty, who believes that the heart of the Christian message might well be forgiveness.

At the conclusion of his reflection, the cardinal notes that “the spirit of forgiveness is essential for the preservation of human community, whether in the home, the neighborhood, the nation or the world. It is no less necessary for disposing individual persons to receive forgiveness from God.”

With the season of Advent we have now begun another liturgical year. Advent speaks of the Lord’s coming into our lives, and we, as followers of Jesus, are to open our hearts to this loving, merciful, forgiving presence of the Savior.

The Church considers of great importance the mission of forgiveness. In fact, this matter of forgiveness has been enshrined in the sacred rite of a sacrament in which we encounter the merciful Jesus. As St. Paul reminds us in his second letter to the Corinthians, “This makes us ambassadors for Christ, Christ as it were appealing though us. We implore you, in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God.”

Some of the most challenging messages in the Gospels are Jesus’ commands to forgive. Many of the stories surrounding Jesus’ ministry are about forgiveness; the encounter with Zacchaeus, the woman accused of adultery, the thief on the cross: all are powerful challenges to us, to go forth and act in like manner. Even Peter gets tripped up in his questioning of the Lord, about how many times to forgive. Jesus’ response? There are to be no limits as to the number of times. So often we are with Peter. We want to limit. Somehow, there seems to be a nagging sense that we won’t allow other people to take advantage of us. We can have that twisted mentality that somehow, in setting limits we can let others know of our sense of vindictiveness and punishment for what they have done. Basically, that is our not too subtle way of control.

Pope John Paul II has frequently stressed forgiveness and reconciliation in his ministry. In 1980, he wrote the encyclical Rich in Mercy. In the millennial year of 2002, his witness of asking for forgiveness for our past mistakes as Church has already become legendary. His pilgrimage to the Holy Land that year was marked by the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation. For the most part, that message has fallen on deaf ears, and with disastrous consequences. Hatred and “cherished” memories of insults and injustice become like a cancer to relationships, and even to the souls of nations. Until that cancer is recognized and dealt with, degradation of relationships will continue.

More recently, last April, the Holy Father issued an apostolic letter, The Mercy of God, in which he offered more specific directions to the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation. He expresses strongly the need to appreciate this sacrament. He also fears that in some places there has been a tendency to abandon individual confession and wrongly resort to “general” or “communal” absolution.

There are three ways in which the sacrament of reconciliation can be celebrated in the Church. Rite I is the one that has been strong in our tradition; the celebration alone, with a confessor. Rite II is a communal celebration in which several or many confessors are available to hear individual confessions and extend absolution to the penitent in context of the larger communal liturgy of the Word and examination of conscience. Rite III is also celebrated communally, with the presider granting absolution to all during the service without the confession of specific sins by individuals. This latter format is known as granting “general absolution.” Always the granting of general absolution was accompanied by the directive that a grave sin was to be mentioned in a future celebration when that specific grave sin could be mentioned to a confessor.

In his April apostolic letter, Pope John Paul II has stressed that Rite III is to be used only in cases of grave necessity. He spells out more specifically what he means by the restriction: “a grave necessity exists, that is, when in light of the number of penitents a supply of confessors is not readily available to hear the confessions of individuals in an appropriate way within an appropriate time, so that the penitents would be deprived of sacramental grace or Holy Communion for along time through no fault of their own; it is not considered sufficient necessity if confessors cannot be readily available because of the great number of penitents, as can occur on the occasion of some great feast or pilgrimage.”

I have mentioned to the priests of the diocese that we need to adhere to the directives of the pope’s apostolic letter. Already many parishes have been using Rite II, with considerable success. In our circumstances in the diocese, I believe given the above restrictions, Rite III is not to be used. We all will need to be patient as we better strive to provide opportunities for the celebration of Rites I and II. When Rite II is celebrated, coordination and careful planning among pastors is and will be very important. In many instances, this is already happening.

Finally, the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation must not be ignored on our spiritual journey. Every one of us is in need of forgiveness, and the celebration of this sacrament of mercy extended to us by the Church can be a powerful way of confronting the reality of sin in our lives and encountering a merciful Jesus who forgives and heals. May we all be a mutual sign to one another of seeking forgiveness and rejoicing in God’s mercy.

Have a blessed Advent season!

Dec. 5: Washington State Catholic Conference meeting, Seattle
6: Secretariat meeting
8: Confirmation, 10 a.m., St. Thomas More Newman Center, Pullman

Immaculate Heart Retreat Center Advisory Board
20: Secretariat meeting
26: Mass, Dominican Center

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