Does guilt from
unremitted sins committed long ago still remain?
Answer / Resources:
[click link(s) below, as applicable]
Yes. As St.
Augustine says...
"Just as in the
case of those sins which cannot themselves be permanent, because they pass away
as soon as they are committed, but their guilt remains, and if not remitted,
will remain in eternity, so too with concupiscence; when remitted, guilt is
taken away. For not to have sin means not to be guilty of sin. If anyone, for
example, committed adultery, even if he never does it again, he is guilty of
adultery until it be remitted... He has the sin, therefore, although that which
he committed no longer exists because it passed away along with the passing of
time at which he committed it." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, c. 419
A.D.)
Please Note: The above
refers to unremitted sins (not sins already confessed). Those
guilty of mortal sin (and venial sin) should repent and receive absolution in
the Sacrament of Penance. Note that if it has been a very long time since one's
last confession, a general confession may be appropriate (ask a good priest).
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