What is Confession in the Catholic Church?

The institution

The sacrament of Confession was instituted by Christ on the evening of the Resurrection, when he appeared to the apostles in the Upper Room and breathed on them, saying: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:22-23). The Catholic Church understands these words as the conferral upon the apostles, and through them upon all sacramentally ordained priests in apostolic succession, of the authority to forgive sins in the person of Christ.

The Council of Trent (Session XIV, November 25, 1551, Doctrina de Sacramento Paenitentiae) solemnly defined the institution of Confession by Christ and the priestly authority to absolve sins.¹

The four parts

Catholic theology identifies four parts of the sacrament:

1. Contrition. Sorrow for sin, with the firm purpose of amendment. Perfect contrition is sorrow motivated by love of God; imperfect contrition (also called attrition) is sorrow motivated by fear of the consequences of sin. Either suffices for valid Confession; perfect contrition, even outside the sacrament, can restore one to the state of grace, but only with the implicit intention to confess as soon as possible.
2. Confession. The penitent verbally tells the priest his or her sins. All grave (mortal) sins committed since the last Confession must be confessed by kind and number, to the best recollection of the penitent. Venial sins are encouraged to be confessed but are not strictly required.
3. Penance. The priest assigns an act of penance (typically a prayer or a small act of charity) that the penitent performs after the absolution.
4. Absolution. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, pronounces the formula of absolution: "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." With these words, the sins are forgiven.

The seal of confession

The priest is bound by an absolute, inviolable obligation of secrecy regarding what is confessed: the seal of confession (in Latin, sigillum confessionis). The seal binds the priest under pain of automatic excommunication reserved to the Holy See; canon law (Canon 983, Code of Canon Law) admits no exception, not even to save a life or comply with civil law. The seal extends not only to the content of confessions but to anything the priest learns by virtue of the sacrament that could disclose the penitent's identity in connection with sin.²

Mortal sin and venial sin

Catholic moral theology distinguishes:

• Mortal sin: a grave sin (in matter), committed with full knowledge that it is gravely wrong and with deliberate consent of the will. Mortal sin destroys the state of grace in the soul. The Catechism lists three conditions: grave matter, full knowledge, deliberate consent (CCC 1857).
• Venial sin: a sin in less grave matter, or in grave matter but committed without full knowledge or full consent. Venial sin wounds but does not destroy the state of grace.

A Catholic in a state of mortal sin must abstain from Holy Communion until making a sacramental Confession. The faithful are obligated to confess at least once a year (the Easter duty), but more frequent Confession (monthly is the traditional spiritual recommendation) is strongly encouraged.

How to go to Confession

A simple Catholic Confession proceeds:

1. The penitent enters the confessional and makes the Sign of the Cross.
2. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time] since my last Confession. These are my sins." The penitent then confesses sins by kind and (for mortal sins) number.
3. The priest may give counsel and assigns a penance.
4. The penitent prays an Act of Contrition.
5. The priest pronounces absolution.
6. The penitent says "Thank you, Father" and leaves to perform the assigned penance.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Council of Trent, Session XIV (November 25, 1551), Doctrina de Sacramento Paenitentiae. See also Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1422 to 1498. ↩

2. Code of Canon Law (1983), Canon 983 on the seal of confession; Canon 1388 on the penalty for violation. ↩