Topic: Must restitution be made in Confession to the person or group from which a penitent originally stole?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: July 17, 2004

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question:  I’m a Protestant who wants to convert. I have no problem with confessing before a priest, but have two questions. Before I receive First Eucharist I have confess and do penance. I know Catholics believe you can pray to God directly for forgiveness of venial sins, but have to go through a priest for mortal ones. Protestants believe all sins confessed privately to God are forgiven and forgotten. They feel anyone who worries about that clearly doesn’t believe God has fulfilled his promise, and is then committing another sin. I know I wouldn’t be expected to remember all my sins from my whole life, but just mention the big ones I remember.1) Are the mortal sins I’ve confessed and believe God has forgiven already considered forgiven, or am I still in my sins? Will I be expected to account for those same sins again?2) I’m very worried about the matter of restitution in Reconciliation. I know I’m expected to return anything I’ve stolen, and I have stolen some things in my lifetime, which I’m not proud about. But if I were to return these things now or send money to the wronged party, circumstances are such that my identity would be discovered and I’d probably go to jail. Is there any other way to do penance and make restitution? Thanks.

Answer:

Thanks very much for your question, and thanks -- far more -- for wanting to follow God's leading into full Communion with the Catholic Church. Bless you as you continue on your journey!

Let me encourage you to read all the Questions and Answers under the "Subject" heading of http://www.catholicqanda.org/FAQ_Library/faq_library.htm in our FAQ Library which, I hope, will help you with the issues you raise here.

With regard to the specific things you mention, let me respond in the following ways:

1. Let's just say that mentioning in your first Confession any mortal sins you may have committed and have personally confessed to God is certainl the wisest course of action. I don't know FOR SURE exactly whether God has or has not forgiven those mortal sins. But I am POSITIVE that God forgives them in the context of the Sacrament of Reconciliation -- so better to be safe than sorry! Might as well take full advantage of the grace that the Lord is offering in this wonderful Sacrament!

2. With regard to the matter of restitution in the context of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: Each priest has his own way of attending to that issue in the celebration, but MY way (and nobody else has to follow my way!) runs sort of like this...I encourage a person who has stolen to figure out -- for instance -- how much he or she has stolen in general terms. Then I encourage the penitent person to give approximately that much money away to some charitable institution. If the person wants to give the money back to the place from which she or he stole it, that's fine, but it's certainly not a requirement in my book or according to the teaching of the Church. Generally, I encourage people to give money where they feel that it will do the most possible good for the largest number of people -- as long as that is to an institution that is not contravening the teaching of the Church, of course. Anyway, I would not foresee that you would ever be asked to make restitution in such a way that it would identify you personally. So I really won't worry about that at all.

Bless you as you continue your journey toward deeper Communion with our loving God!