Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: September 13, 2015
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Last week Pope Francis announced something more about the upcoming Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy which will begin on December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Father definitely wants it to be experienced as a time of grace, especially by those persons who perhaps have felt most alienated from God and His Church. Among these often are women (and frequently their parents, husbands and boyfriends) who have obtained – often many years ago – an abortion. The Pope wrote that for the Jubilee Year he is extending the needed permissions so that any Catholic priest throughout the world would be able to forgive this sin in confession and even absolve from the penalty of excommunication which can sometimes be attached to it.
This may be a novelty in some places, but not here in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. As an official diocesan statement put it, “Since the mid-1980s priests in the Diocese of Baton Rouge have had the faculty (authority) to absolve through the Sacrament of Reconciliation the sin and censure of excommunication which are attached to an obtained abortion. Although Catholic Church law reserves jurisdiction over this to the local diocesan bishop, the bishop may in turn delegate this faculty to his priests. Bishop Robert Muench and his predecessors – Bishop Stanley Joseph Ott and Bishop (now Archbishop) Alfred Hughes – have indeed granted the priests of the Diocese the ability to be ministers of mercy in this particular situation, in order to make clear that the mercy and forgiveness of God are as widely available as possible.”
As a priest friend of mine went on, “The Holy Father, in a desire to express an abundance of God’s mercy, wishes to ensure that the grace and forgiveness is extended to everyone through good confession, especially the grievous sin of abortion and its penalties in the Church. The door has never been closed to them, it’s always been open. He’s just opening it wider!”
Here at the Cathedral long lines of people avail themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation at our scheduled times of 11:30 am Monday through Friday, and 3 pm on Saturday. I’m also available for individual confessions to be scheduled privately, at more convenient times. Please, don’t let the natural human hesitancy at admitting faults and failings stand in the way of the divine happiness of forgiveness!
This weekend I’ll be preaching about another important aspect of our life of faith: our yearly Stewardship of Ministry commitment. I’ll be asking for your volunteer service to the Parish and wider community. We pride ourselves here at the Cathedral that such a large portion of our parishioners and friends are involved in so many different forms of service. In so doing, we are being good stewards of the many opportunities which God has given us to do His work!
Sincerely in the Lord,
