§ III. On the Office of Judging Sins

I. For the confessor to absolve validly, it suffices that he has apprehended the act of the penitent under the aspect of sin, even if he forms no judgment either about the gravity or about the species of the sin (St. Alphonsus, VI, 627).

II. For the confessor to absolve in such a way that there does not remain for the penitent the burden of afterwards confessing the sin again, it suffices that the penitent has declared the sin, as it was committed, to an attentive confessor, even if the confessor errs both as regards gravity and as regards species (St. Alphonsus, VI, 478).

III. For the confessor to absolve licitly, he generally ought to have judged whether the sins accused were grave or light, and of what species they were (St. Alphonsus, VI, 627). To explain these things more, observe that it suffices that the confessor: 1. habitually know the gravity and species of the more obvious sins;¹ 2. equipped with that knowledge, hear the sins, even if he does not form an entirely explicit judgment about gravity and species; 3. have judged about the sins in the way set forth at the moment when the penitent declares them, and pronounce sentence from the judgment previously had, even if, while he grants absolution, he does not remember the sins declared.

Corollary I. While the confessor imposes satisfaction, he ought to retain or reassume sufficient knowledge, which is easily present, for imposing a fitting satisfaction.

Corollary II. If absolution is deferred, for example for one or two weeks, it is required that in the following confession the confessor have retained, or now reassume, at least confused knowledge of the state of the penitent (n. 334).

¹ "Let him hear the rest and absolve" (St. Alphonsus, VI, 627).