Are There Sins Only A Pope Can Absolve?

by Admin · Published October 31, 2023 · Updated October 30, 2023

Pope Francis hears the confession of a priest during a meeting with priests of the Diocese of Rome at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano, handout)

Question: I have been told that there are certain sins which only the pope can absolve. What could these sins be?

Answer: There are indeed certain sins that are also crimes in the Church that are so egregious, they can be pardoned only by the pope. Probably the reason you might not know what they are is that (thankfully) these offences rarely, if ever, happen. But they are named specifically in Code of Canon Law.

The sins that are reserved to the pope for absolution are known as “reserved sins” or “reserved cases”.

The most well-known reserved sins are those of apostasy, heresy, and schism. Some other examples are: a person who throws away or otherwise desecrates the consecrated bread or wine of the Eucharist; a priest who breaks the seal of confession by revealing the nature of the sin and the identity of the person who confessed it; someone who uses physical force against the pope; or, a priest who has sex with a penitent and then offers that penitent sacramental absolution for that very sin.

While these sins are reserved to the pope, he may delegate his authority to other bishops or priests. In many cases, bishops have been granted the power to absolve these sins within their own diocese or region. However, in some cases, only the pope himself can grant absolution for certain reserved sins, especially in matters related to the governance of the Church.

It should be noted that if a penitent were in danger of death, any priest could absolve that person from any sin, including those listed above. This would apply even if that priest had been deprived of his faculties to hear confessions.

Published in the September 2023 issue