I just finished reading Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory. If you haven’t read it, DON’T READ ANY FURTHER, I
'M GOING TO DISCUSS THE ENDING.
I would like to know people’s opinion about the whiskey priest. Did he die in a state of sin, because no one would hear his confession? Also, does the Church make an allowances for periods of repression (Mexico in the 20s-30s, the Soviet Union, etc.) That is, if there are no priests available, can Catholics laymen fill roles normally left to the clergy? I’m not a Catholic, but I was interested in some of the problems faced by the characters in the book. I’d like to hear from anyone who has read the book and knows more about Catholicism then I do.
I believe the Church would make allowances for political situations, knowing that people’s desires to practice their faith may be strong but not fulfillable.
Catholic laypeople cannot fill most of the roles of priests. Mass may only be said, and sacraments celebrated, by a priest. In communities where priests are not available, the faithful may gather to pray or discuss Scripture, but a non-priest cannot perform the duties of a priest.
Not only would the Church, but it does. I know a few priests (one in Alaska, one in Guatemala) who are “circuit” priests - that is, they are the priests for two or more parishes, and travel to one a week to celebrate Sunday mass and perform other sacramental duties. I’ve never asked either what the Church requires the congregation to do on Sundays when they are visiting another parish, and both are rather difficult to contact, so someone else will have to answer that question. However, I don’t think the Church considers the people who don’t have a regular parish priest in a state of sin for not meeting their Sunday obligation every Sunday.
Regarding the plot of Greene’s book, the position of the RCC on forgiveness in regards to the sacrament of Reconciliation/Penence/Confession is that God forgives any person who is truly sorry for their sin. The sacrament is necessary for a person to be fully reunited in the communion of the Church or in the Body of Christ (which is the Church). Dying repentant, but unconfessed, will not doom anyone to Hell.
This is not to say that various members of the RCC at various times would always agree with my statements. Dying “unshriven” was a very real fear to many people for a very long time. However, the actual teachings of the RCC do not require a person to be absolved in Confession to enter Heaven.
In Greene’s view, the priest is redeemed. At the time he wrote the novel, there were quite possibly a number of Catholics who would not have agreed with his premise. However, I am fairly sure that nothing in current Catholic theology would disagree with Greene.
Thanks for the info. One interesting point about the whiskey priest is that he doesn’t feel guilt for his sin. That is, he has an illegitimate child and can’t bring himself to feel anything, but love for the child and so can’t reconcile himself to repenting for the sin. He dies a very confused man. Given that Greene was a convert it’s interesting to me how fully Greene seemed to embrace his faith on an intellectual and spiritual level. But I do prattle on…
Sorry, but that isn’t strictly true. The sacrament of baptism can be celebrated by anyone, even (believe it or not), non-Christians. Sure, you should generally refer to your local priest, but in extreme situations (passenger on Titanic, dying on battlefield) anyone can baptize Catholic.
Along that line, Catholic theology holds that baptism washes one entirely clean from sin, both original sin and one’s own sins. This makes it very appropriate for those iceberg moments.
Note that baptized Christian non-Catholics are not rebaptized when they convert to Catholicism, so those earlier baptisms (by definition not performed by a priest) are efficacious in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
In a pinch anyone can perform things such as last rites. It does not require a priest but most people for whom such things are important would prefer the real deal (if for no other reason than they get it right).
Confession doesn’t help you unless you’re repentant. Even a priest will tell you merely going to confession is useless unless you truly, inside, repent for your sins. I doubt that if you die unconfessed God will take it personally. I imagine God would have little trouble figuring you out and handling you accordingly regardless of what was or wasn’t done when you died (not to mention what you did or didn’t do for the rest of your life).