Q. I never hear our priest talk about the Apostolic Pardon. Please explain this blessing to me and why I don’t hear much about it. — M.G., Alabama.
A. Once the Sacrament of Penance has been given to a dying person, says the document Pastoral Care of the Sick (n. 201), “the priest may give the Apostolic Pardon for the dying, using one of the following:
“ ‘Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come. May He open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting joy. Amen.
“‘By the authority which the Apostolic See has given me, I grant you a full pardon and the remission of all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen’.”
Here are the conditions for the Apostolic Pardon (or Apostolic Blessing) that are spelled out in the Handbook of Indulgences (n. 28):
“Priests who minister the sacraments to the Christian faithful who are in a life-and-death situation should not neglect to impart to them the Apostolic Blessing, with its attached indulgence. But if a priest cannot be present, Holy Mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence.
“In such a situation, the three usual conditions required in order to gain a plenary indulgence [freedom from all attachment to sin, performance of an indulgenced work, sacramental Confession and Eucharistic Communion] are substituted for by the condition ‘provided they regularly prayed in some way’.”
We don’t know why you never hear mention of this gift since it was entered into the Roman Ritual by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747. It should be noted, however, that while a whole chapter was devoted to the Apostolic Pardon in that Ritual, the new Ritual contains only two brief prayers. Nevertheless, priests should be aware of it since it is mentioned in the section of the Breviary dealing with prayers for emergencies. In any case, you ought to bring this Blessing to the attention of your priest and encourage him to use it with those who are dying.
Q. Is it true that the Councils of Leon, Florence, and Trent defined the doctrine of the Limbo of Children and, if so, does this make it an infallible doctrine of the Church? — G.P., via e-mail.
A. No, it is not true. Limbo has never been an infallible doctrine of the Church, although the idea has long been used in Catholic theological teaching to account for the fate of babies who die without being baptized. The best summary of the development of this teaching can be found in the 2007 document The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized.
In that document, the International Theological Commission said that Limbo was not a doctrine, but a possible hypothesis which can be “understood as a state which includes the souls of infants who die subject to Original Sin and without baptism and who therefore neither merit the Beatific Vision nor yet are they subjected to any punishment because they are not guilty of any personal sin. This theory, elaborated by theologians beginning in the Middle Ages, never entered into the dogmatic definitions of the magisterium, even if that same magisterium did at times mention the theory in its ordinary teaching up until the Second Vatican Council” (Preface).
Limbo is not mentioned either in the documents of Vatican II or in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. What the Catechism does say is this:
“As regards children who have died without baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God, who desires that all should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them’ (Mark 10:14; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4), allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy baptism” (n. 1261).
In its final comments (n. 102), the International Theological Commission said that “our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered above give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision. We emphasize that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge. There is much that simply has not been revealed to us (cf. John 16:12). We live by faith and hope in the God of mercy and love who has been revealed to us in Christ, and the Spirit moves us to pray in constant thankfulness and joy (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18).”
Q. Recently I moved from the United States to a South American country. Here as a priest starts the Sunday Mass, another goes to the confessional. Clearly those who go to Confession are missing part of the Mass. Are they fulfilling their Sunday obligation? — C.G.D., Paraguay.
A. The practice of a priest hearing Confessions during the Mass has been widespread in Latin America since the time when religious missionaries were visiting mostly rural areas to bring the Catholic faith to the poorest and most neglected natives of the continent. Because the priests could not assure those communities that they would be there each week (sometimes months would elapse before they saw the missionaries again), the missionaries developed the pastoral practice of providing as many sacraments as possible to these people during their visits.
They would baptize infants, say Mass, and hear Confessions during Mass to maximize the fruits of their visit to these communities. Catholicism was widely embraced by the people in Latin America, which made the sacramental distribution even more challenging for priests.
The practice of hearing Confessions during Mass was common, but with more priestly vocations the bishops in Latin America advised their priests to begin to train their faithful on the pastoral necessity of celebrating each sacrament at separate times. The liturgical norm says that “it is preferred not to combine sacraments into one liturgical gathering, but until all the conditions are met for this, it is not forbidden to provide the faithful with the opportunity to live a life of grace through the sacrament of reconciliation.”
The practice you have seen in Paraguay still exists in some places, but it is changing. However, while waiting in the confessional pew for the opportunity to go to Confession, the faithful clearly fulfill their duty of Sunday obligation if (1) the confessionals are inside the church where the Mass is being celebrated, (2) the faithful are participating in the liturgy while they wait for their turn to confess, and (3) they only miss the three to five minutes that they are actually confessing their sins.
Even though you may see this practice still in a few churches, priests were always mandated to stop hearing Confessions during the entire length of the Eucharistic Prayer (from the “Holy, Holy, Holy” to the “Great Amen”).
The advice of a priest-friend of ours, who is originally from Mexico, is that “if you have the time and desire to go to Confession, seek always to go at a time separate from the Mass so that, when you participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, you may live it in all its entirety.”
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