Toward the Salvation of Souls | Reflections Post-Rome 2025

On a sunny Wednesday morning, halfway through the fifth week of The Rome Experience, we had an opportunity to visit and learn about the Apostolic Penitentiary. The current facilities were established during the 16th century, with the tribunal itself founded during the 13th century at the earliest. Despite its title, the Apostolic Penitentiary focuses not on housing offenders that are of interest to the Holy See, but rather on reviewing cases for clerics that only the Holy See can provide a response toward, and if need be, a penance. 

In the words of Msgr. Encina, who serves for the Penitentiary, contrary to the publicly declared excommunications, the penitentiary is “a tribunal of the internal forum” and, therefore, cases that would not be directly known by the public. Such scenarios would include excommunications where a priest broke the seal of confession or profaned the Holy Eucharist. Msgr. Encina offered a thorough description as to the nature of such cases that would be grounds for excommunication, and the process in which clerics would need to appeal for absolution and penance. 

We had the opportunity to dive more into how we, once ordained priests, will best be able to protect the internal form that the penitentiary strongly defends and upholds for the Church and her people. As a matter of fact, we were quite curious about the seal of confession, given that Msgr. Encina states how breaking the seal of confession is one of the most common appeals they receive. 

Given our curiosity, he directed our attention toward a book that he had been working on for some time now, which is a book with almost everything anyone (clergy and laity) would want to know about confession from A to Z. The work has been published in three languages and will soon be published in English and a few others very soon. 

For his position at the Penitentiary, Msgr. Encina is deeply versed and heavily trained in canon law and takes his duties seriously, and yet with great joy. While speaking with us on the nature of his responsibilities, he was quite confident on the importance for seminarians to take the opportunity to learn more on canon law if we were able. 

Overall, the work of the Penitentiary shows how the Vatican takes the duties and sanctity of her clergy and the sacred nature of her sacraments very seriously, ultimately working toward the salvation of souls. This motivation, Msgr. Encina recalls, is the last canon in the Code of Canon Law, and from what he has demonstrated by his profession and vocation, it is the motto of the Penitentiary, which reflects the motto of the Church.

Jacob Schneider
Diocese of Evansville

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When and How to Have Recourse to the Apostolic Penitentiary by Msgr. Carlos Encina Commentz is now available from Midwest Theological Forum, published in both English and Spanish.