margaret_diane
Former Member
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- May 5, 2009
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Back to my Catholic questions.
There are all of those priests that have molested children. How do they repent? They aren't in prison.
Priests are not considered infallible. They repent (should they choose to do so) by attending confession (with another priest, or perhaps a higher up like a bishop or cardinal - I'm not sure)... and they are absolved. The only way they'd go to prison is if they confessed their crimes to LE, or their victims held them accountable and proved a case against them. So if they attend confession, speak of their sins, say a few prayers or follow recommendations by the priest who heard the confession (eg: do community service, pray, etc)... then they are considered forgiven by God. The forgiveness of fellow humans is irrelevant to one's own absolution -- the only judge a Catholic answers to is God.