"May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee, and I by His authority absolve thee from every bond of excommunication and interdict in so far as I can and as thou needest it; and so I absolve thee from thy sins in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, whatever good thou hast done and whatever evil thou has borne, be for thee unto the remission of sins, the increase of grace, and the reward of everlasting life." (Only essential words, according to Dr. Ludwig Ott, "Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis - I absolve you from your sins.")

  Dr. Ott, in FUNDAMENTALS OF CATHOLIC DOGMA, page 422, states, "According to the view of the Reformers, absolution is a mere declaration that sins are forgiven on the ground of fiducial Faith. As against this the Church firmly insists that the power of absolution is a true and real power of absolution, by which sins committed against God are immediately removed."

  (Ed-The declaration spoken of by the Reformers is God's declaration that sins are forgiven; Roman Catholic absolution is conditional - full confession, firm resolve not to sin again, and intention to satisfy the penance given, and also only partial. Temporal punishment still remains.)

  Scriptural "proof" text: Jn 20:23, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." If this meant Confession and Absolution, the Holy Spirit was not faithful in teaching the apostles what Jesus said and meant (John 14:26), or they were disobedient to Him. Not once in the Book of Acts did they hear confessions. The context of the verse is sending forth the disciples to preach the Gospel. That is what they were told to do. That is what they did.

  The ambassador for Christ has absolute power to communicate the true message of the Gospel and to declare, unequivocably, if the message is believed, remission of sins will follow. If it is rejected, sins are retained. This was the message of the apostles, and still is the message of Christians. The CATHOLIC DICTIONARY, page 6, traces absolution to a writing by Amalarius at Rome in the 9th century.

  In the Rite of Reconciliation, the words of absolution (reconciliation) are: "God the Father of mercies has reconciled the world to Himself through the death and resurrection of His Son, and has poured forth the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. May He grant you pardon and peace through the ministry of the Church. And I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

  This is almost identical to the words of absolution as given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994, #1449. They went on to say (#1459), that "Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for his sin: he must `make satisfaction for' or `expiate' his sins. This satisfaction is also called 'penance.' "

The words of absolution might vary, but the important phrase is still "I absolve you." (Tom Craggs)

  Though the Rite of Reconciliation uses more scriptural language, it is still far from Biblical forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 10:14; I John 1:9; 2:1; Psalms 103:12).

  From CATHOLIC NEW YORK, 3/19/87. "GENERAL ABSOLUTION PROHIBITED IN DETROIT. In a lenten pastoral letter on penance, Archbishop Edmund Szoka of Detroit has declared that conditions for general absolution do not exist in his archdiocese. Parishes holding sacramental communal penance services must provide in advance for enough priests to hear confessions individually, he said. Question in THE CATHOLIC ANSWER, January/February 1991, "Can my sin be absolved through the General Absolution service held in our church once a month?" Answer: "Your parish has no right to be scheduling General Absolution services; such services are strictly forbidden, except under the most extreme circumstances."

  From an editorial in the DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER, 3/3/93, page 10. "Absolution? Absolutely! . . . In days of old, Catholics regularly stood in line for confession, while Communion lines ran relatively short. Catholics, as a rule, would not consider receiving Holy Eucharist without receiving first the Sacrament of Penance. ". . . Today, lines outside of confessionals are virtually non-existent. Yet, nearly everyone in the pews steps into the Communion line. . . "Catholics' attitude toward the sacrament changed. Somewhere along the line, we seem to have laid down our consciences. We hear little talk of sin today.

  Popular New Age philosophies attempt to erase the very concept. ". . . Sin alienates us from God. Transgressions may vary by degree and come in many varieties: sins mortal and venial, Sins That Cry to Heaven for Vengeance, sins of commission and sins of omission, capital sins, sins against the Holy Spirit and - let's not forget - Original Sin. ". . . The Sacrament of Reconciliation can free us from lugging around emotional and spiritual baggage that drags us down considerably. Absolution can lighten one's load and one's heart. ". . . So why do we continue to resist being reconciled in the tender embrace of our all-merciful and ever-loving God? That's a good question to ask yourself this Lent."

  In some Dutch churches, members of the congregation mentally express their sorrow for sin while publicly reciting an act of contrition, then receive absolution in a group from their priests (TIME, 10/3/67).

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