Question 210 – Are my confessions valid if my confessor is unfamiliar with my language?

Interview Organization: The Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher Wendt
Date: July 13, 2023
Mortal sins require true repentance, expressed through confession, where God purifies the soul. If the priest understands the confession, we can assume its validity, as long as the sins are sincerely confessed. However, it's not valid to confess to a priest who completely does not understand the language.
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Transcript:

First, mortal sins require a true act of repentance, a supernatural act of repentance, which is expressed through confession. At this moment, God purifies the soul from sin, and this is the essential act in the sacrament of confession.

In this case, when the priest understands what is being said during the confession, we can assume that he grasps the essential part of the confession, and we don't need to worry about its validity, as long as we sincerely confess our sins. However, we cannot confess to a priest who completely does not understand anything. But in this situation, we can assume that the priest at least understands the basics and that one should not confess to someone who does not understand the language.