“Ask a Priest: What Needs to Be Confessed Before Baptism?”
Q: What does a 7-year-old or adult have to confess, right before a priest will baptize them? – J.S.
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A:Â A person who isn’t baptized cannot receive the sacrament of confession. A person must be baptized to be able to receive the other sacraments. Baptism, in any case, remits all sins.
It is possible that an adult catechumen might desire to prepare for baptism by unburdening his conscience in a confession-like dialogue with a priest.
A priest may accept such a dialogue as a pastoral measure. But he should make clear that it is not the sacrament of reconciliation, and that absolution will not follow the conversation.
I hope this helps.
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