Are all OCSP priests authorized to hear confessions and grant absolution to Catholics?
I ask this because a visitor sent me a link to this entry at the Canon Law Made Easy blog, which says
According to canon 970, a priest should not be given confessional faculties until he has been examined, and his suitability for hearing confessions has been determined. Nowadays, the general practice is that when a seminarian successfully completes all his seminary studies, and is established to be sufficiently prepared for priestly ordination, his bishop accepts this as adequate indication that he is knowledgeable enough about moral theology to begin hearing confessions in the diocese. The rationale is that if a seminarian were unqualified to be a confessor, he wouldn't have made it through his seminary courses in the first place.I would note, though, that a number of current OCSP priests went to Reformed seminaries. I assume that no Reformed seminary covers moral theology from the perspective of penance as a sacrament. This applies in particular to Fr Baaten, whose entire pastoral experience of 20 years appears to have been in a denomination that does not recognize confession as a sacrament. And venial vs mortal sin, something that comes up in confession without a doubt, is unlikely to be covered outside Catholic seminaries. But I would also assume that cursory "distance learning" is not sufficient to qualify any OCSP priest to hear confessions, at least with any assurance that they are not placing souls in danger.
I also remember a TEC Nashotah House graduate explaining to an adult forum that the seven deadly sins are "neither here nor there". Subsequently he employed a medium to contact his deceased same-sex partner. Thus even a Nashotah House MDiv would not be much assurance that one such, ordained into the OCSP, should be hearing confessions.
So, again, are all OCSP priests authorized to hear confessions and grant absolution? If so, what type of examination were they given, and what makes Bp Lopes feel confident that the souls entrusted to their (and his) care are not placed in danger?
Because, frankly, I would not go anywhere near certain OCSP priests for confession. I'm beginning to wonder if I should be pursuing this with the CDF.
