A Catholic prelate says priests also make confession as they also commit sins

MANILA -- A Catholic prelate said that members of the clergy just like ordinary people also commit sins and they also confess to make peace with God.San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David noted that it is important for men of the cloth” to avail of the sacrament of penance to be able them to fully impart absolution to others. Although we are ordained, we also have to confess our sins just like the ordinary faithful and to reconcile ourselves with the Lord … We are just as guilty of sins,” he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.However, he admitted while it is not easy for them to sit on the other side of the confessional, priests have to do it because it is one of the best ways they can get the spiritual nourishment they need to sustain them in their sacred ministry.The chairman the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA)added there was nothing like preparing oneself adequately for the sacrament of reconciliation.David said that the sacrament had four elementsand three on the part of the penitent (contrition, confession proper, and satisfaction), and one on the part of the minister of the sacrament (forgiveness, absolution).Meanwhile, the Catholic Church official clarified that confession is different from consultation, noting that the former is a Sacrament that enjoins one to conversion. Actually, confession is the common name for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or penance … And it is only one of its aspects. When we confess our sins, it means we are humble enough to ask the Lord forgiveness for them,” David saidThe Catholic prelate added that consultation or seeking counsels was what a person in distress consciously or unconsciously did when he or she needed the company and the advice of another, but not necessarily because a mortal sin had been committed. Counseling is what we Filipinos most often do. Whenever we feel troubled, it’s normal for us to engage other people willing to listen to our woes. That way we unburden ourselves of our emotional baggage,” he said. (PNA)RMA/FGP/SSC