Abstract
The work of the Austrian dialogical thinker, Ferdinand Ebner, had both a direct and an indirect influence on the development of the Sacrament of Penance after Vatican Council II. Ebner's notion that humans are given the "word" by God, who is the "Eternal Thou," informed Vatican II's deepening theology of the word. Sin is understood as a rejection of dialogue, a closing of oneself to the Thou, for which authentic sacramental Confession offers the remedy, in and through the miracle of God's gift of speaking to humans. Ebner's influence on Vatican II is direct, especially in the elaboration of the "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation," Dei Verbum, while his influence on the New Rite of Penance is indirect - reflected in a deeper theology of the word that had already been "absorbed" by the Council. There are implications for further study of Ebner's thought as a prism through which to apply other language philosophies to better understand the Sacrament of Confession.
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