Suppose a person bribes and gets a job he doesn’t deserve. Does confession make him holy if he continues to enjoy the advantages of the sin, like salary?

This is a really good question and to be frank did get me thinking. As a starting point it seemed only right to first define what a bribe is and then go on to think about the moral implications arising because of it. According to Merriam Webster, a bribe is defined as “money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust”. Here the transaction is initiated by the person who intends to change the way a person in power would act. Interestingly, this is not the only instance when money or favour is given to someone else. Sometimes this transaction is voluntary without expecting anything in return, and then it is called a “gift”. There are also other times when it is the person in power who initiates the transaction in return for dispensing his duties or services.  This would be a scenario known as “extortion”. Often all these actions are mistakenly identified as “bribe” and are looked down upon. Recognizing whether a said arrangement is a bribe or a gift or rather an extortion makes a lot of difference in its moral implications.

Let’s now look at the situation at hand. A person “Z” acquired a job by bribing an official even though he was not deserving of that appointment. Clearly, Z is the one who has initiated the transaction in order to coerce someone else to take an action which is morally wrong. If Z, after joining his job comes to a realization that what he has done is wrong and confesses with a repentant heart then he is forgiven of his wrong doing. Now, such a transformative change of heart, if true, will also encourage him to make reparation to the injured party for the wrong that he has suffered. 

In Luke 19:1-10 we encounter a man named Zacchaeus who after meeting Christ undergoes metanoia and seeing the vanity in his way of life proclaims – “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Though this incident is not strictly regarding bribery, it still points towards how a genuine change of heart looks like. It involves both the realization of the wrongdoing and steps to rectify the harm the said wrongdoing has brought about. So the question that remains is this – “Who is the injured party and how can Z repay him?” 

The answer to the first question is straightforward – the actions of Z have caused injury to all those who had applied for the job and were deserving of it. It is the answer to the second question that has practical problems. Ideally Z should resign and the job should go to the one who was the most deserving candidate. But it is easier said than done. It could be that this realization of wrongdoing has come years after the selection process. It could also be that the company policy is to start the recruiting procedure all over again leaving the harm done unsatisfied. There could be other reasons too because of which the required amends might not be possible. In short, there is no single solution for all the different situations that could arise and hence a more pastoral approach is required. The following paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) sheds more light into this. 

Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins. This satisfaction is also called “penance.” – CCC 1459

Therefore, one can discuss the situation with the priest how to amend for the incurred loss and follow on the path laid out by him to “recover his full spiritual health”.