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RCIA & Adult Faith Formation: How Early May a Baptized Candidate Go to Confession?

One of the most stressful moments for baptized Protestants entering into full communion with the Catholic Church is making their first Confession. Unlike Catholics who typically need only to recall sins from a month or so, these baptized adults in RCIA must make a first Confession covering their entire lives—many decades for most. Occasionally, a zealous Protestant arrives in RCIA months before Easter asking the question, “Can I go to Confession now?”

This sets up the question: How early may a baptized candidate go to Confession? Surprisingly, very little is written on this subject. Of course, it may not be too surprising, since very few candidates are begging to go to Confession early. The question is made more difficult, though, because the Church does not specify when a candidate may go to Confession, only that one should.

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Father Drake McCalister has directed RCIA since 2006 and is Coordinator of the Catechetical Practicum for the Office of Catechetics at Franciscan University and Parochial Vicar at Holy Family Church, Steubenville. He entered the Church in 2004 with his wife and children after 13 years as a Pentecostal pastor and was ordained to the priesthood in December 2020. To read more about Fr. Drake’s story and about how this is possible, visit his website at www.thattheymaybeone.org.

This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

Categorized Under

Categorized Under:

Adult Faith Formation

Catechizing Children

OCIA

Sacramental Preparation

Issue:

7.4

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About Franciscan Catechetics

The Catechetics Degree Programs and the Catechetical Institute (CI) at Franciscan University of Steubenville work in concert to prepare clergy, religious and laity to join the “army of catechists” called for by St. John Paul II, eager to help the Church in her mission of making all nations joyful disciples of Jesus Christ. We combine a thorough formation in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterial documents with training in effective pedagogical techniques to help those we serve to grasp the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Father’s plan, and to bear witness to others faithfully of the wonderful life of grace in the Holy Spirit.

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