Editing Absolution (section)

===General absolution{{anchor|General}}<!-- [[General absolution]] redirects here -->===
General absolution, where all eligible Catholics gathered at a given area are granted absolution for sins without prior individual confession to a priest, is lawfully granted in only two circumstances:<ref name="ccliviivi">{{cite web |year=1983 |title=Code of Canon Law – The Celebration of the Sacrament |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3F.HTM |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>{{rp|961}}
# there is imminent danger of death and there is no time for a priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents (e.g., to soldiers before a battle),
# a serious need is present, that is, the number of penitents is so large that there are not sufficient priests to hear the individual confessions properly within a reasonable time (generally considered to be 1 month) so that the Catholics, through no fault of their own, would be forced to be deprived of the sacrament or communion. The [[Bishop#Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches|diocesan bishop]] must give prior permission before general absolution may be given under this circumstance. It is important to note that the occurrence of a large number of penitents, such as may occur on a pilgrimage or at penitential services is not considered as sufficient to permit general absolution. The second circumstance is thus envisaged more for mission territories where priests may visit certain villages only a few times a year, or military campaigns where combatants may not have a priest at a battle site.

For a valid reception of general absolution, the penitent must be contrite for all his mortal sins and have the resolution to confess, at the earliest opportunity, each of those mortal sins forgiven in general absolution. Anyone receiving general absolution is also required to make a complete individual confession to a priest as soon as possible.  An historical example is the absolution given by [[William Corby]] to the [[Irish Brigade (U.S.)|Irish Brigade]] during the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in 1863. Contemporary examples of general absolution are the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island nuclear accident]], where general absolution was granted to all Catholics endangered by the incident,<ref name="straight">{{cite web |author=Saunders |first=William |year=1998 |title=Straight Answers: Is General Absolution Allowed? |url=http://catholicherald.com/stories/Straight-Answers-Is-General-Absolution-Allowed,6730 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151740/http://catholicherald.com/stories/Straight-Answers-Is-General-Absolution-Allowed,6730 |archive-date=2015-04-02 |access-date=2015-03-09 |publisher=Arlington Catholic Herald}}</ref> and the [[9/11 first responders|firefighters]], many of whom were Italian and Irish, who were granted general absolution by local priests before heading into the burning World Trade Towers on [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001]].<ref name="remembering">{{cite web |author=Pronechen |first=Joseph |year=2011 |title=Remembering 9/11 |url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/remembering-9-112 |website=National Catholic Register|publisher=[[EWTN News, Inc.]]}}</ref>

The proper belief of imminent danger of death is a sufficient rationale to administer the rite, even though the actual danger might not actually exist. The general absolution was licitly given by Honolulu Bishop [[Clarence Richard Silva]] to people at a church programme during the [[2018 Hawaii false missile alert]] as it was believed that direct nuclear attack from North Korea was imminent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Missile alert prompts Hawaii bishop to give rare 'general absolution' |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/01/18/missile-alert-prompts-hawaii-bishop-to-give-rare-general-absolution/ |access-date=5 March 2019 |work=Catholic Herald|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917090444/https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/01/18/missile-alert-prompts-hawaii-bishop-to-give-rare-general-absolution/|archive-date=17 September 2018}}</ref>