Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly called Penance, Reconciliation, or Confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (called sacred mysteries in the Eastern Catholic Churches), in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church. By this sacrament Christians are freed from sins committed after Baptism. The sacrament of Penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sin, by which one would otherwise condemn oneself to Hell.

As Scriptural basis for this sacrament, the Catholic Church refers to John 20:23, where Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the Apostles, saying, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained," and to James 5:16: "Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved."

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is also known as "Penance", "Reconciliation", and "Confession".

The sacrament has four elements: three on the part of the penitent (contrition, confession and satisfaction) and one on the part of the minister of the sacrament (absolution).

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