Introduction
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Divisio (see above) 1) First part: definition of “confession”: «Confession is that act by which the latent disease becomes manifest in the form of forgiveness» (Augustine). Three types of confession: 1. “(self)confession” = referring every good to God and every evil to oneself, as human beings; 2. Confession for (human) justice: anyone who confesses is convicted and punished according to human justice = the opposite of the “ecclesiastical confession” (cf. infra), where those who confess are forgiven; 3. Ecclesiastical confession = confession for penitence (one of the seven sacraments). 2) Second part: three origins of confession (reference to Bonaventure): 1. From the evangelical authority of Jesus Christ: Jesus gave the apostles - and, consequently, all priests - the authority to absolve from sins (references to Iohannes 20, 22-23 and Matthew 18, 18). Forgiving is God's prerogative, and priests absolve as ministers of God; 2. From the autority of the apostles, who preached penance around the world (reference to Mark 16, 15); 3. From the authority and will of the Church: obligation to confess at least once a year, on Easter day (reference to Liber extra, tit. xxxviii, cap. xii); 3. Third part: two quaestiones. First quaestio: is it necessary to confess immediately after having sinned? It is necessary in many cases (reference to Duns Scotus, cf. General Notes): 1. When the moment of damnation or salvation approaches; 2. When you are in danger of death; 3. When you want to confess (reference to Liber extra, tit. xxxviii); 4. When giving or receiving a sacrament (direct warning to a certain «buffalo», i.e. a “rude man”, and to «madonna Bianca»); 5. When you want to do a solemn act in Church (even the priest, as a preacher of the divine word, must be free from sin). Second quaestio: do we need to repeat the confession if we forget to confess a sin? The confession must be repeated in four main cases (reference to Bonaventure): 1. In case of "impotence" of the confessor, i.e. if the priest is excommunicated; 2. In case of ignorance of the confessor (“[…] a blind man leads another blind man, and both fall into the ditch”, metaphor by Augustine); 3. When a sin is maliciously omitted; 4. When one negligently doesn’t do the penance imposed by the confessor: in this case, if one remembers the previously neglected penance, it’s sufficient to perform it without repeating the confession; otherwise, it’s mandatory to reconfess.
Conclusion Just as it is appropriate for a sick person to choose a good doctor, so it is appropriate for a sinner to choose a wise confessor (Franciscan and Dominican preachers are recommended).