So, bearing false witness is against the 10 commandments, and Newt Gingrich has been

[zbdent]

quite often bearing false witness (telling lies) ...

has ANYBODY seen him going to confession? I mean, it's part of being Catholic (along with the anti-abortion stance), and, just to keep up, Newt Gingrich probably has to confess after every debate ...

[JHB]

1. Newt would need a priest to follow him around...

...he needs to confess to bearing false witness roughly every other breath.

So who is his Father Confessor?

[Scuba]

2. He's offered to take God's confession. So far, no reply.

[zbdent]

3. God is patient, but even he has limits, apparently ...

[baldguy]

4. He keeps saying that he's been forgiven for his transgressions.

If I recall me Catholic Communion instruction, the process to receive absolution is called the Sacrament of Penance. Confession of your sins is just a first step. The Sinner then needs to repent - prove to his Confessor that he understands what his sin was, why it was wrong, and convince his Confessor he'll never do it again. The next step is to do penance - this is the whole point of confession - and Newt always seems to skip over this part entirely. Doing so many Hail Marys and so many Our Fathers usually isn't enough, especially if the Sinner has caused some harm to another person. He must provide some sort of restitution & sincerely seek forgiveness personally from the very person he has harmed. Finally, after all this has been done & the Confessor is satisfied that the Sinner has completed the necessary requirements and has become a Penitent, only then does he receive Absolution from the Confessor. But this doesn't mean God has automatically granted His forgiveness. The Absolution is simply a request to God by the Confessor to forgive the sin on the behalf of the Penitent.

So, to sum up:

-A sin is committed.

-The Sinner confesses and requests absolution.

-The Sinner repents his sins.

-The Confessor assigns penance.

-Once the penance is completed to the Confessor's satisfaction, the Confessor requests that God forgive the Sinner, the Sinner receives his Absolution and therefore becomes a Penitent.


When Newt says he's been forgiven for his adulteries he's either lying or displaying his fundamental ignorance of sacraments of the Church he has so recently devoted himself to. A savvy journalist should ask him just what he did as penance for his sin.

[zbdent]

5. "Newt says he's been forgiven" ... and again needs to go to confession ...

he just hasn't named who he lied about ...