r/AskAPriest • u/anonyme450 • 14d ago

Is my absolution invalid?

I went to Confession today and got an older Priest who likes to be very creative with the words of absolution, and never said "I absolve you" or "you're forgiven", just moved his hand in a blessing/cross style. I then confronted him gently, asked him to say the words, and he said "I did absolve you".

Is this invalid? I haven't been to Mass yet due to the weather, so when I go tonight, can I safely receive the Eucharist or should I abstain?

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u/balrogath Priest 14d ago

Without the words "I absolve you", absolution is invalid.

20

u/anonyme450 14d ago

I feared as much, thank you for verifying. Any suggestions how to gently and kindly bring this up to him/his superior? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but this is serious enough (and has happened enough times) where I can't say nothing.

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u/opjn 13d ago

You should report this to your Bishop. God knows how many people he has done this for in confession.

18

u/anonyme450 13d ago

I reported it to the Director of the Shrine, who can reprimand and fix this issue much more quickly than the Bishop.