Apostolic Penitentiary - Absolutions and Dispensations

Absolutions and Dispensations

Normally confessions of sins are handled at the local level by priests and their bishops and are not heard by the tribunal. The work of the Apolostic Penitentiary involves sins, such as defiling the Eucharist, which are reserved to the Holy See. In late 2006, then Major Penitentiary Cardinal Stafford said this offense is occurring with more and more frequency, by ordinary faithful who receive Communion and then remove the host from their mouths and spit it out or otherwise desecrate it. Other sins that are handled by the Penitentiary include a priest breaking the seal of the confessional by revealing the nature of the sin and the person who sought penance, or a priest who has sex with someone and then offered forgiveness for the act. These sins bring automatic excommunication from the Church. Once absolution is granted, the excommunication is then lifted. A fourth type of case that comes to the tribunal involves a man who has contributed towards facilitating an abortion, such as by paying for it, or directly so by performing one, who then seeks to become a priest or deacon.

Persons who wish to receive an absolution or dispensation reserved to the Holy See write a petition to the Penitentiary. Usually, this petition is written through their initial confessor. The petition must use pseudonyms when explaining the situation to avoid revealing the identity of the persons involved (which would violate the Seal of Confession), and the tribunal itself acts in complete secrecy. The Major Penitentiary considers the matter himself, unless it is particularly important, in which case the whole of the tribunal considers the petition. The members of the tribunal only give advice regarding the petition--the Major Penitentiary has the ultimate decision on whether the dispensation or absolution should be granted. If the Major Penitentiary is uncertain as to whether he has authority in a given case, he submits the matter to the Pope. The impediment or act in question must not be public, as it would then be a matter of the external forum and cannot be absolved or dispensed by the Penitentiary.