Bringing you the "Good News" of Jesus Christ and His Church While PROMOTING CATHOLIC Apologetic Support groups loyal to the Holy Father and Church's magisterium
Home About
AskACatholic.com		 What's New? Resources The Church Family Life Mass and
Adoration		 Ask A Catholic
Knowledge base
AskACatholic Disclaimer
Search the
AskACatholic Database
Donate and
Support our work
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
New Questions
Cool Catholic Videos
About Saints
Disciplines and Practices for distinct Church seasons
Purgatory and Indulgences
About the Holy Mass
About Mary
Searching and Confused
Contemplating becoming a Catholic or Coming home
Homosexual and Gender Issues
Life, Dating, and Family
No Salvation Outside the Church
Sacred Scripture
non-Catholic Cults
Justification and Salvation
The Pope and Papacy
The Sacraments
Confession
back
Relationships and Marriage situations
Specific people, organizations and events
Doctrine and Teachings
Specific Practices
Church Internals
Church History

Embarrassed Ed wrote:

Hi, guys —

Good Day, and thanks for your time.

I'm not sure if this is something you can answer, but it deals with Confession.

Having struggled with the sin of masturbation for a while now, I find myself embarrassed to mention this actual word and instead confess this as Impure, lustful, sexual desires, or temptations.

  • Is this OK for Confession or do I have to actually say the word masturbation?

Thanks,

Ed

  { Is saying this good enough in Confession or do I have to actually say the word "masturbation"? }

Eric replied:

Dear Ed —

You don't need to use the term but you need to be more precise. It makes no sense to confess a temptation because temptations are not sinful; not even sexual desires, per se, are sinful.

So you're not really confessing a sin there. You might say, I was impure with myself, and the priest will know.

Eric
Please report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
Suggestions for this web page and the web site can be sent to Mike Humphrey
© 2012 Panoramic Sites
The Early Church Fathers Church Fathers on the Primacy of Peter. The Early Church Fathers on the Catholic Church and the term Catholic. The Early Church Fathers on the importance of the Roman Catholic Church centered in Rome.