No one in our parish should be surprised to learn that I care a lot about doing what the Church asks me to do, especially liturgically. However, to my great shame, there is one liturgy that I have known since seminary that I have been doing wrong, and that is the liturgy of Confession. Nothing majorly wrong (all your confessions have been valid!), but the way the responses go is entirely off. Since I have never made the time to teach our parishioners the right way, I continue to hear confessions according to the common knowledge/style.
However, in 2001 Pope St. John Paul II published a document called “Liturgiam Authenticam” which laid down principles for the translation of Latin texts into the vernacular, and this document has prompted the English-speaking bishops of the world to slowly retranslate all of their liturgical texts. We got a new translation of the Mass in 2011, a new translation of the Rite of Marriage in in 2016, and a new translation of the Rite of Baptism of Children in 2020.
So now we have a new Order of Penance, which is allowed to be used as of Ash Wednesday 2023 and is required to be used as of Divine Mercy Sunday 2023. The changes are slight, but it is the appropriate opportunity to begin catechesis on the proper form of confession, including the proper dialogues.
I have scanned and uploaded the entire rite (which is only 3 pages) here. A few initial notes:
- The penitent says and makes the Sign of the Cross, not the priest. The priest responds with a stock prayer.
- There is no official “Forgive me Father for I have sinned…” or any requirement to say how long since a previous confession (though I do find that information very helpful). The penitent simply starts confessing.
- There is a dialogue after absolution, in which the penitent responds “For his mercy endures forever.”
Regarding some word changes, you’ll notice that the default Act of Contrition is completely different. Those of you who have memorized the “old” Act of Contrition will be happy to note that it is still included in the list of alternate Acts of Contrition (interesting list, check it out!). However, the “softer” 1970s version that I learned and that we still teach our school kids (because it was the official translation for 50 years) has disappeared. You can still use it, but it is no longer printed as a suggestion. Also, the words of absolution have changed slightly (though the words essential for validity are the same).
I’ll be honest: I still do not have time to do proper catechesis, here or in the confessional. What we really need is a printed, easy-to-follow script for our confessional. Please let me know if you are willing to make one! Or, heck, just do it.
Fr. Moore 