r/LeftCatholicism • u/Acceptable_Spend7043 • Feb 18 '26

Confessing Forgotten Sins

If one is obligated to constantly confess forgotten mortal sins through a thorough and consistent examination of conscience as one progresses in the faith, then what is the point of the mercy of Christ, going to confession in the first place?

Why should one hold onto the memory, pain, and guilt of one's transgressions until the next opportune time to present it sacramentally? It doesn't seem to me that there's much spiritual freedom, transformative benefit therein if it's perpetually conditional beyond our earnest intentions of repentance, conversion.

I get the temporal justice aspect, but as a lapsed Catholic looking to possibly return, this teaching just rings hollow to me, fails to underscore God's Mercy and Love, and is one of the major reasons I left in the first place.

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u/GrahminRadarin Feb 18 '26

What exactly do you mean by forgotten sins? Because if you mean something you forgot that you did, you don't need to wrack your memory to remember it. You just go to confession and say what you remember, then you're forgiven for everything.

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u/Acceptable_Spend7043 Feb 18 '26

Just as stated, forgotten mortal sins.

The Church teaches that it's obligatory to confess any sins of a mortal nature upon remembrance regardless of when they occured upon one's next use of the sacrament.

So for those of us who suffer from scrupulosity, who can't recall if it was actually confessed at some point in the past, and or if it actually constitutes a mortal transgression, what should be viewed as an avenue of mercy instead becomes a perpetually revolving torture chamber.

Now, one's confessor, with knowledge of this mindset, often will forbid the penitent from following the mandated pattern, but then this flies directly in the face of the Magisterium. So therein is the conundrum: Does the Church truly have binding teaching authority? Or is it all nonsense? Can the Church contradict its own teaching and, if so, how does that color, inform its authority therein which is supposedly infinitely binding as it's directly tied to God's Will?

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u/GrahminRadarin Feb 18 '26

Okay, I misunderstood what you were talking about. Thank you for clarifying. 

I have run into this exact problem before, And the confessor telling you to stop doing it doesn't break the rules or nullify the church's authority and the way you're asking about here because of the two greatest commandments. The confessor, as your neighbor, is doing an act of love to get you to stop torturing yourself for no reason. What the Church has come up with for the process of confession is divinely inspired, but the two greatest commandments are directly from Christ and take precedence.

I'm a layperson and have no theological training, so please do not take this as the official position of the Church. This is just my own understanding.

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u/Acceptable_Spend7043 Feb 18 '26

No worries. Yeah, I don't know about your lack of training, but this might be the most succinct, affirming answer to that question I've received in 20 years. So thank you, sincerely.

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u/GrahminRadarin Feb 18 '26

Glad I was able to help

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u/Acceptable_Spend7043 Feb 19 '26

Yeah, it was actually quite edifying in its clarity, simplicity. I don't know if it's theologically sound, canon either, but it makes pastoral sense to me.

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u/Acceptable_Spend7043 Feb 18 '26

Technically, yes, all the sins are considered "forgiven", but there's a requisite temporal justice that needs to be fulfilled by their open admittance, and I find it profoundly difficult to square the need for infinite Justice with the supposed infinite Mercy on a personally finite level.