Cathal Barry
The Church teaches that Confession to a priest is an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance, writes Cathal Barry
The Church teaches that penance requires the sinner to “endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction”
Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Contrition is “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again” (Council of Trent).
When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, the Church teaches that contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity).
“Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental Confession as soon as possible,” according to the Catechism.
The contrition called “imperfect” (or “attrition”) is also a gift of God, the Church teaches, “a prompting of the Holy Spirit”.
Sinner
“It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance,” the Catechism states.
The Church teaches that the reception of this sacrament “ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God”.
The passages best suited to this, the Catechism suggests, can be found in the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings.
The Church teaches that the confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, “frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others”.
“Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible,” the Catechism states.
Confession to a priest is an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance, the Church teaches.
“All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in Confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly” (Council of Trent).
Ultimately, the Church teaches that anyone who is “aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to Confession”.
The Church also teaches that children must go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.