The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-06-28
Why can priest refuse to give alb
solution to a penitent?


may refuse to render verdict of ac-
Guittal in behalf Of o criminal who
stands at the bar of Justice: the GRIM
inal does not satisfy the judge that
he is innocent. With the penitent it
is not a question of innocence or guilt,
for the guilt is acknowledged by the
penitent himself; but it is question
of having or lacking the proper dis
positions of contrition and the pur-
pose of amendment. If the penitent
has those requisite dispositions, the
priest must grant absoiutlon; nut
when in his Judgment the penitent
lacks those dispositions, the priest has
nothing to do but refuse absolutIon.
1t may be that the priest refuses alb
solution because the sinner is guilty
of some very heinous, scandalous Of
tense, the absolution of which is re-
served to the Bishop or to higher
church authorities. The priest always
grants abSolution when he can do so
in conscience; otherwise he is bound
in conscience to refuse the absolution.
rs Margaret the name Of a saint?
Any girl named Margaret has the
choice of some excellent patrons, as
follows: st. Margaret Of Marina, viz
gin and martyr, daughter of pagan
priest, disowned by her father and
later put to death, after having been
miraCuloUSly saved twice when former
attemJts were made to kill her;
Blessed Margaret Colonna, Poor Clare,
noted for her charity to the poor and
her patience in suffering; Blessed Mar
;garet Mary Alacoque, through whom
the Sacred Heart devotion was pop
Ularized by Christ, and who is soon
to be Canonized; st. Margaret OF Cor
tona, of the Third Order of st. Fran
els, who became saint after she had
lived in illicit union with man for
nine wears; Blessed Margaret of Hun
gary, a nun of the royal family who
was so ConseCrated to contemplation
and penance that she was venerated
as saint oven in her lifetime;
Blessed Margaret Of Lorraine, a
duchess who became a nun; Blessed
Margaret of Savoy, a marChlOnesS who
became a Dominican nun when she
was widowed and who evaded the at
tempt of nobleman to have her re-
leased from her VOW so that she could
marry him. st. Margaret of Scotland,
a queen whose private life was most
holy and who did great things for the
Church of her land: Blessed Margaret
Pole. an English countess who suffered
terribly in prison under blood-soaked
Cromwell for the faith and who was
finally put to death.
r. At what age is Confirmation given?
T Any baptized person who has not
received Confirmation may receive
this Sacrament. This applies even to
infants. In the early days the Sac
rament of Confirmation was admins
tered Immediately after baptism. In
she present discipline of the Church
children are generally confirmed i'm
mediately or very shortly after their
First Communion. While this is the
general rule, in some countries, as in
administered in early childhood. In
some diOceseS of great territory
where it is impossible for the Bishop
to visit the parishes of his diocese
only once in many years, the practice
exists of administering the Sacrament
of Confirmation to the little children.
This is also the custom in some coun-
tries in Europe. A little child may
also be confirmed if the Bishop so de-
sires when there is danger that the
child may die before it reaches the
customary age.
The word church in the Bible
means congregation. Where do you
get the idea of hierarchy?
1t is true that the word church
means an assembly or congregation.
This congregation, however, is not a
mere mob but an organized body
ruled by officers appointed by Christ.
The kingdom of Christ is divided into
teachers and those who are taught
Our Lord chose twelve from His dis
Ciples. He commissioned them to
teach and make disciples of all ma
tions. He gave them power to admin
lister His Sacramento and made them
legislators whose laws should bind in
conscience. He gave these powers
only to certain men. Saint Paul says:
God hath set some in the Church;
first, apostles secondly, prophets;
thirdly, teachers. Are all apostles?
Are all teachers?" The hierarchical
form of government in the Church
was in evidence Immediately after the
death of Christ. The Apostles gath
cred and selected a successor to
Judas. They sent Paul and Barnabas
on a special mission and proceeded
to appoint Bishops in the various
churches. All these things plainly
prove that Christ instituted Church
which is complete form of govern
ment, and hierarchy means nothing
more than sacred rule or govern
ment.
Is it necessary to be member Of
the League of the Sacred Heart in
order to receive the benefits promised
by our Lord to those who make the
nine Fridays?
No. But there are other benefits
accruing from membership in the
League.