After Confession

[TerrorDæmonum]

THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

Duties of the Confessor as Regards Satisfaction

Restitution Must Be Insisted On

Above all, priests should be very careful not to give absolution to any penitent, whose confession they have heard, without obliging him to make full satisfaction for any injury to his neighbour's goods or character for which he seems responsible. No person is to be absolved until he has first faithfully promised to restore all that belongs to others.

But as there are many who readily promise to comply with their duty in this respect, yet are deliberately determined never to fulfil their promises, these persons should be obliged to make restitution, and the words of the Apostle are to be frequently pressed upon their minds: He that stole, let him now steal no more; but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have something to give to him that suffereth need.

The Sacrament of Penance

120 Q. Besides his penance, what else must the penitent do after confession?
A. Besides performing his penance after confession, the penitent, if he has justly injured another in his goods or reputation, or if he has given him scandal, must as soon as possible, and as far as he is able, restore him his goods, repair his honour, and remedy the scandal.

121 Q. How can the scandal given be remedied?
A. The scandal given can be remedied by removing the occasion of it and by edifying by word and example those whom we have scandalised.

122 Q. How should we make satisfaction to one whom we have offended?
A. We should make satisfaction to one whom we have offended, by asking his pardon, or by some other suitable reparation.

The Fifth Commandment

12 Q. What should he do who has injured another in the life of either body or soul?
A. He who has injured another must not only confess his sin, but must also repair the harm by compensating his neighbour for the loss he has sustained, by retracting the errors taught, and by giving good example.

The Seventh Commandment

16 Q. Is it enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin?
A. It is not enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin; he must also do his best to restore what belongs to others, and to repair the loss he has caused.

17 Q. What is meant by repairing the losses caused?
A. Repairing the losses caused means the compensation which must be made to another for the goods or profits lost owing to the theft or other acts of injustice committed to his detriment.

18 Q. To whom must stolen property be restored?
A. To him from whom it has been stolen; to his heirs, if he is dead; or if this is really impossible the value of it should be devoted to the poor or to some charity.

19 Q. What should one do who finds something of great value?
A. He should diligently seek the owner and faithfully restore it to him.

The Eighth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbid?
A. The Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbids false testimony in a court of justice, and it also forbids backbiting, detraction, calumny, adulation, rash judgement and rash suspicion and every sort of lying.

14 Q. Is it enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin?
A. It is not enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin; he is also obliged to retract whatever he said when calumniating another, and to repair as far as he can the harm he has done.