Summary of the Pope's Holy Thursday Letter to Priests

Dear Priests,

I am taking my seat beside you as it were at the table in the Upper Room at which the Lord Jesus celebrated with his Apostles the first Eucharist.

From that time on, then the priest as it were lends Christ his own face and voice: "Do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19).

How marvellous is this vocation of ours, my dear Brother Priests! Truly we can repeat with the Psalmist: "What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps 116:12-13).

I would like to speak to you about the mission which the Lord has given us to represent him not just in the Eucharistic Sacrifice but also in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In the economy of grace willed by Christ, "The Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins. That is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation." (Catechism No. 1395).

In insisting on this truth, the Church ‘s intention is to grasp its significance in relation to the whole sacramental economy as instituted by God's saving wisdom: "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement upon himself"" (1 Cor 11:27-29).

In line with this admonition of Saint Paul is the principle which states that ""anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion"" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1385).

My dear Brothers in the Priesthood: in recalling this truth, I feel a pressing need to urge you, to rediscover for yourselves and to help others to rediscover the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In recent decades and for a variety of reasons, this sacrament has passed through something of a crisis.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation offers a rich response to the need of therapy by bringing the penitent into contact with the merciful heart of God through the friendly face of a brother.

We are meant to be loving and enlightened interpreters of this wisdom though the personal contact we are called to have with so many brothers and sisters in the celebration of Penance.

With joy and trust let us rediscover this sacrament. Let us experience it above all for ourselves, as a deeply-felt need and as a grace which we constantly look for, in order to restore vigour and enthusiasm to our journey and to our ministry.

At the same time, let us make every effort to be true ministers of mercy. God counts on us, on our availability and fidelity, in order to work his wonders in human hearts.

The Father's embrace and the Good Shepherd's joy must be visible in each one of us, dear Brothers, whenever a penitent asks us to become ministers of forgiveness.

In confession we can find ourselves faced with all kinds of people. But of one thing we must be convinced: the brothers and sisters who seek our ministry have already been touched by a mercy that works from within.

The minister of pardon, who exemplifies for penitents the face of the Good Shepherd, must express in equal measure the mercy already present and at work and the pardon which brings healing and peace.

It is on the basis of these principles that the priest is deputed, in dialogue with the penitent, to discern whether he or she is ready for sacramental absolution.

Clearly, when there is no sorrow and amendment, the confessor is obliged to tell the penitent that he or she is not yet ready for absolution. If absolution were given to those who actually say that they have no intention of making amends, the rite would become a mere fiction; indeed, it would look almost like magic, capable perhaps of creating the semblance of peace, but certainly not that deep peace of conscience which God's embrace guarantees.

It can happen that in the face of complex contemporary ethical problems the faithful leave the confessional with somewhat confused ideas, especially if they find that confessors are not consistent in their judgments.

The truth is that those who fulfil this delicate ministry in the name of God and of the Church have a specific duty not to promote and, even more so not to express in the confessional, personal opinions that do not correspond to what the Church teaches and professes.

Likewise, a failure to speak the truth because of a misconceived sense of compassion should not be taken for love. We do not have a right to minimize matters of our own accord, even with the best of intentions.

Our task is to be God's witnesses, to be spokesmen of a mercy that saves even when it shows itself as judgment on man's sin."Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 7:21).

At this time too, as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of Ordination in succumbing even to the most grievous forms of the mysterium iniquitatis at work in the world, all of us –– conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of divine grace –– are called to embrace the "mysterium Crucis".

It is precisely our faith in Christ which gives us the strength to look trustingly to the future. We know that the human heart has always been attracted to evil, and that man will be able to radiate peace and love to those around him only if he meets Christ and allows himself to be "overtaken" by him.

As ministers of the Eucharist and of sacramental Reconciliation, we in particular have the task of communicating hope, goodness and peace to the world.