‘Sense of sin and repentance are at stake’

Nagpur: With fewer people requesting the Sacrament of Confession the sense of sin and repentance are fading away.

Even outside the Church, the same indication is seen in the growing number of crimes of various sorts and proportions in secular society too,” Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulanagara of Nagpur told more than 75 diocesan priests delegates from across the country.

The prelate was presiding over the inaugural Mass of the 13th National Council of The Conference of Diocesan Priests in India (CDPI) at the Pallotine Animation Centre, Nagpur, February 24.

The archbishop told priests that “Repentance should be understood and presented to people as ‘good and joyful’ news of the mercy and love of a forgiving God rather than a morose and sad act of penance.

Repentance is not ‘bad news’. He said “Our preaching and the Liturgy as a whole, should cultivate in people a sense of repentance for sins committed and this in effect should also spill over into secular society. As priests we have an immense potential to affect that change”