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3. Pastoral Guidelines for Confessors
1.
In dealing with penitents on the matter
of responsible procreation, the confessor should keep four aspects in mind: a)
the example of the Lord who "is capable of reaching down to every prodigal
son, to every human misery, and above all to every form of moral misery, to
sin";36 b) a prudent reserve in inquiring into these sins; c) help
and encouragement to the penitents so that they may be able to reach sufficient
repentance and accuse themselves fully of grave sins; d) advice which inspire
all, in a gradual way, to embrace the path of holiness.
2.
The minister of Reconciliation should
always keep in mind that the sacrament has been instituted for men and women
who are sinners. Therefore, barring manifest proof to the contrary, he will
receive the penitents who approach the confessional taking for granted their
good will to be reconciled with the merciful God, a good will that is born,
although in different degrees, of a contrite and humbled heart (Psalm
50:19). 37
3.
When occasional penitents approach the
sacrament, those who have not confessed for a long time and manifest a grave
general situation, it is necessary, before asking direct and concrete questions
with regard to responsible procreation and chastity in general, to enlighten
them so that they can understand these duties in a vision of faith. Thus it
will be necessary, if the accusation of sins has been too succinct or mechanical,
to help the penitents to place their life before God, and, with general
questions on various virtues andor obligations in accordance with their
personal conditions, 38 remind them in a positive way of the invitation
to the sanctity of love, and of the importance of their duties in the area of
procreation and the education of children.
4.
When it is the penitent who asks
questions or seeks clarification on specific points, even if only implicitly,
the confessor will have to respond adequately, but always with prudence and
discretion, 39 without approving erroneous opinions.
5.
The confessor is bound to admonish
penitents regarding objectively grave transgressions of God's law and to ensure
that they truly desire absolution and God's pardon with the resolution to
re-examine and correct their behaviour. Frequent relapse into sins of
contraception does not in itself constitute a motive for denying absolution;
absolution cannot be imparted, however, in the absence of sufficient repentance
or of the resolution not to fall again into sin. 40
6.
The penitent who regularly confesses
with the same priest frequently seeks something besides absolution alone. The
confessor needs to know how to provide guidance to help him or her to improve
in all Christian virtues, and, in consequence, in the sanctification of marital
life. 41 This certainly will be easier where a relationship of actual
spiritual direction exists, even if this name is not used.
7.
On the part of the penitent, the
sacrament of Reconciliation requires sincere sorrow, a formally complete
accusation of mortal sins, and the resolution, with the help of God, not to
fall into sin again. In general, it is not necessary for the confessor to investigate
concerning sins committed in invincible ignorance of their evil, or due to an
inculpable error of judgment. Although these sins are not imputable, they do
not cease, however, to be an evil and a disorder. This also holds for the objective
evil of contraception, which introduces a pernicious habit into the
conjugal life of the couple. It is therefore necessary to strive in the most
suitable way to free the moral conscience from those errors42 which
contradict the nature of conjugal life as a total gift.
Though one must keep in mind that the
formation of consciences is to be accomplished above all in catechesis for
married couples, both general or specific, it is always necessary to assist the
spouses, also in the moment of the sacrament of Reconciliation, to examine
themselves on the specific duties of conjugal life. Whenever the confessor
considers it necessary to question the penitent, he should do so with
discretion and respect.
8.
The principle according to which it is
preferable to let penitents remain in good faith in cases of error due to
subjectively invincible ignorance, is certainly to be considered always valid,
even in matters of conjugal chastity. And this applies whenever it is foreseen
that the penitent, although oriented towards living within the bounds of a life
of faith, would not be prepared to change his own conduct, but rather would
begin formally to sin. Nonetheless, in these cases, the confessor must try to
bring such penitents ever closer to accepting God's plan in their own lives,
even in these demands, by means of prayer, admonition and exhorting them to
form their consciences, and by the teaching of the Church.
9.
The pastoral "law of
gradualness", not to be confused with the "gradualness of the
law" which would tend to diminish the demands it places on us, consists of
requiring a decisive break with sin together with a progressive path towards
total union with the will of God and with his loving demands. 43
10.
On the other hand, to presume to make
one's own weakness the criterion of moral truth is unacceptable. From the very
first proclamation of the word of Jesus, Christians realize that there is a
"disproportion" between the moral law, natural and evangelical, and the
human capacity. They equally understand that the recognition of their own
weakness is the necessary and secure road by which the doors to God's mercy
will be opened. 44
11.
Sacramental absolution is not to be
denied to those who, repentant after having gravely sinned against conjugal
chastity, demonstrate the desire to strive to abstain from sinning again,
notwithstanding relapses. In accordance with the approved doctrine and practice
followed by the holy Doctors and confessors with regard to habitual penitents,
the confessor is to avoid demonstrating lack of trust either in the grace of
God or in the dispositions of the penitent, by exacting humanly impossible
absolute guarantees of an irreproachable future conduct. 45
12.
When the penitent shows a willingness to
accept the moral teaching, especially in the case of one who habitually
frequents the sacrament and demonstrates trust with regard to the spiritual
help it offers, it is good to instill confidence in divine Providence and be
supportive, in order to help the penitent to examine himself honestly before
God. For this purpose it will be necessary to verify the solidity of the
motives inducing a limitation of fatherhood or motherhood, and the liceity of
the methods chosen to distance or avoid a new birth.
13.
Special difficulties are presented by
cases of cooperation in the sin of a spouse who voluntarily renders the unitive
act infecund. In the first place, it is necessary to distinguish cooperation in
the proper sense, from violence or unjust imposition on the part of one of the
spouses, which the other spouse in fact cannot resist. 46, 561).] This
cooperation can be licit when the three following conditions are jointly met:
when the action of the cooperating spouse is not already illicit in
itself; 47
when proportionally grave reasons exist for cooperating in the sin
of the other spouse;
when one is seeking to help the other spouse to desist from such
conduct (patiently, with prayer, charity and dialogue; although not
necessarily in that moment, nor on every single occasion).
14. Furthermore, it is necessary to carefully evaluate
the question of cooperation in evil when recourse is made to means which can
have an abortifacient effect. 48
15. Christian couples are witnesses of God's love in the
world. They must therefore be convinced, with the assistance of faith and even
in spite of their experience of human weakness, that it is possible to observe
the will of the Lord in conjugal life with divine grace. Frequent and
persevering recourse to prayer, to the Eucharist and to the sacrament of
Reconciliation, are indispensable for gaining mastery of self. 49
16. Priests, in their catechesis and in their preparation
of couples for marriage, are asked to maintain uniform criteria with regard to
the evil of the contraceptive act, both in their teaching and in the area of
the sacrament of Reconciliation, in complete fidelity to the Magisterium of the
Church.
Bishops
are to take particular care to be vigilant in this regard; for not infrequently
the faithful are scandalized by this lack of unity, both in the area of
catechesis as well as in the sacrament of Reconciliation. 50
17. The pastoral practice of confession will be more
effective if it is united to an on-going and thorough catechesis on the
Christian vocation to marital love and on its joyful and demanding dimensions,
its grace and personal commitment, 51 and if consultors and centres are
made available to which confessors could easily refer penitents in order to
acquire adequate knowledge about the natural methods.
18. In order to render the moral directives concerning
responsible procreation concretely applicable, it is necessary that the
precious work of confessors be completed by catechesis. 52 Accurate
illumination of consciences with regard to the sin of abortion certainly forms
an integral part of this task.
19. Regarding absolution for the sin of abortion, the obligation
always exists to have regard for the canonical norms. If repentance is sincere
and it is difficult to send the penitent to the competent authority to whom the
absolution of the censure is reserved, every confessor can absolve according to
can. 1357, suggesting an adequate penitential act, and indicating the necessity
to have recourse, possibly offering to draft and forward it himself. 53
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