6533b7d6fe1ef96bd12668c9

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Leczniczy charakter sakramentu pokuty

subject

description

In the twentieth century, in the understanding and practice of the penance sac rament and reconciliation in the Catholic Church, it was reminded clearly that apart from the judgement dimension, it also has an important healing aspect. Firstly, the paper discussed the healing dimension of the penitent’s acts (confession and satisfaction) and the healing role of forgiveness and reconciliation. Then, con fession and psychotherapy were briefl compared. Reflcting on the healing dimension of confession of sins and the conversation with a confessor, it can be noticed that while confessing something, the human identifis with what he or she confesses more consciously, and often he or she clearly realises what was only vaguely sensed before the confession. A clear and accurate calling a spade a spade enables effective action (in this case, the effective conversion), like an accurate diagnosis is a prerequisite for an effective therapy. Although confessing one’s flws and offenses in front of another human is never a pleasant thing and will always be an unpleasant, painful one, but there is, indeed, a healing importance. Today, more and more attention is put on that the confes sion of sins is accompanied by a longer and deeper dialogue with the confessor. In this dialogue, examination of oneself for one’s feelings, events and issues of one’s own life, which worry the human, may take place. Thanks to a conversation conducted in the framework of the confession, one can see one’s guilts, often im plicated in emotionality, from the perspective of objectivising distance. Also, atonement has a healing importance in a double sense – for fellowmen and for the sinner him- or herself, as recompensation of fellowmen’s harm and damage (e.g. restoration of the good name of the defamed) results in healing their wounds inflcted by the sin, and repentance win gives the sinner a new spiritual health. If atonement is to be an effective remedy for the penitent’s spiritual ail ments and to be a form of “preventive care,” penitential works imposed by the confessor cannot be uniform, but they should take into account the individual circumstances. The healing nature of the penance sacrament and reconciliation is also reflcted in its main fruit, which is a manifold reconciliation. After all, the result of each sin is always some kind of injury concerning the human’s attitude to: God, fellow men, him- or herself, and the world around him or her. The complete healing takes place only when the human is one with God, with the other human, with one self and with the creation. This applies, in the fist instance, to the mental health, al though as a consequence, it can also be translated into a specifi impact on the hu man’s physical health, which is the psychosomatical unity. From a strictly medical point of view, the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation for human health is highlighted by the Austrian psychiatrist Raphael Bonelli. In his view, the will ingness for reconciliation demonstrably improves the human’s mental state and reduces the susceptibility to depression and anxiety disorders. Without going into the details of a complex issue of the relationship of confes sion and psychotherapy, it can be stated that the doctor’s ministry and the confes sor ministry do not have to compete with each other – both of them can sometimes even complement each other. For the good of the patient/penitent, it is indeed desirable for the doctors and confessors to cooperate with each other enriching each other with knowledge and experience. Recognising the importance of psychology in spiritual leadership in exercising the penance sacrament, the Church puts more and more attention on the solid psychological knowledge in the process of the preparation of candidates for the priesthood as well as puts the emphasis on training of the confessors. Although the essence of the penance sacrament and reconciliation is not a psychological impact, but only its sacramentality that is the action of Christ in the human and endowment of God’s grace resulting from it, nevertheless, it is also worth realising the healing importance of this sacrament in the natural dimension, which is worth emphasising.