General absolution: the abuse that won't die

Local action as appropriate: an interesting post by Fr Tim Finnigan reminds us that General (as opposed to individual) Absolution, without individual confession of sins, is still widely used in England and Wales despite a succession of high-profile condemnations of it, most recently by Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth. Anyone confronted with this in a parish must remember that General Absolution is permitted by the Church only in emergency situations (typically: a group of soldiers going off to battle), and imposes an obligation on the penitent to go to individual confession as soon as possible afterwards.

While a penitent ignorant of the illegality of the practice, and who receives General Absolution in good faith, is not committing a sin in taking part, and may receive communion afterwards, the objective obligation to confess mortal sins in individual, auricular confession (ie the ordinary kind), has not been satisfied; nor has the obligation to go to confession at Easter time.

Read Fr Finnigan's post on the disastrous pastoral consequences of General Absolution; and see also his earlier post on the subject here.