I Don't Get The Catholic Confession Thing

[Sethomas]

Like I mentioned in my letter, I've studied the claims made in Stigmata extensively. The premise of the movie was utter shite, and the add-on saying that the Church has kept documents undercover is pure BS. They were referring to the Nag Hamadi codices, of which I have attended a lecture presented by a Catholic priest. You can find the texts online. You can see the originals in a museum in Egypt. No one can make a serious claim that they deserve the title "gospels" because they are clearly apocryphal literature from a Coptic break-off sect.

On confessions, it's always made sense to me. The act of confession has never had a pricetag on it, and it's existed since Old Testament times, I believe especially among the Levites. The abuse you're thinking of, Kelly, was the substitution of cash atonement for acts of penance, both of which were always said to only work with a truly sorrowful heart. This turned into the sale of indulgences, which saw its corruption by the 13th century. But the basic idea behind confession is that people have too much pride for it to work. If you just confess to yourself, even if you are genuinely sorry, you are operating under the same mind as which committed the sin itself. The priest serves as an arbitrator, because few people can be objective to themselves.