INDIA
The New Indian Express
KOCHI: Why can’t nuns be allowed to perform the Catholic Church’s sacrament of penance for women and young boys?
This is a question asked by the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement (CCRM) – a layman’s organisation for reforms in the Church – in the wake of the growing incidents of minors being sexually abused by Christian priests in the state.
“We are raising this demand in the wake of the recent spurt in incidents of sexual abuse by Christian priests. The Bible doesn’t say confession should be done only by priests,” said Indulekha Joseph, who staged a dharna outside the Bishop’s House here on Sunday, demanding that nuns be allowed to perform the sacrament of confession for women and young boys.
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, in which the faithful obtain absolution for sins committed against God and neighbours, and are reconciled with the community of the Church.
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