At his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he goes to confession every two weeks.
“My confessor hears what I say, offers me advice and forgives me. We all need this,” the pope said.
Francis said priests and bishops need to also go to confession regularly.
“God, in his sovereign mercy, forgives everyone, but he wanted those who belong to Christ and his church to receive forgiveness through the community’s ministers,” Pope Francis said.
“Priests, too, need confession, even bishops. We are all sinners. Even the pope goes to confession every two weeks because the pope, too, is a sinner,” he said.
Through the presence and words of a priest, he said, penitents have “the certainty of forgiveness in the name of the church.”
The pontiff also spoke about the power Jesus gave the apostles to forgive sins in his name, stating that priests should exercise this ministry with “humility.”
“The Church is the depository of this power. It is not an owner; it is the servant of the ministry of reconciliation on behalf of men,” he explained.
This authority, he said, “is a biblical symbol of the mission Jesus entrusted to the apostles.”
Sources
Catholic News Service
CNA/EWTN/NC Register
Image: CNS/The Catholic Sun