Can a Roman Catholic be re-catechized and re-confirmed?
Upvote:0
Someone who wants to be a good Catholic but is ignorant of much of the faith should definitely learn the faith, either by studying on his own or by being taught. A parish priest would be obligated to help such a person learn, either by teaching him himself, or by arranging for him to be taught by suitable catechists, or by facilitating self-study if he sees that the person is capable of learning that way.
As for re-cofirmation, the other answers have correctly pointed out that the sacrament of confirmation cannot be repeated. There is, however, a possibility, in the situation you described, that such a person's first "confirmation" wasn't valid, in which case he could be (not re-confirmed but) confirmed. Quoting from Fr. Heribert Jone's book "Moral Theology" (which is, to the best of my knowledge, a respected, traditional, Catholic treatise): "Valid reception of Confirmation requires that the subject be baptized. Of those who have attained the use of reason, it is furthermore required that they have at some time made at least the implicit intention to be confirmed and that they have not revoked this intention." I'm not sure whether intending to go through the ceremony in order to get presents constitutes an intention to be confirmed. So a person in the situation you describe should consult his pastor for advice on whether the previous confirmation was valid. If it's not clear whether it was valid, then the sacrament could presumably be administered conditionally.
Upvote:4
Confirmation cannot be administered more than once. In the Catechism we read:
1304 Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the “character,” which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness. [Cf. Council of Trent (1547) DS 1609; Lk 24:48-49]
As for continuing catechesis, this is not only necessary as we grow, anyone who takes their faith seriously will continue to learn and grow.
Upvote:5
The Catholic canon law 889 §1 says that those eligible to be confirmed are: "Every baptized person not yet confirmed and only such a person is capable of receiving confirmation" (My emphasis).
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