Catholic guilt
Catholic guilt is a term used to identify the supposed excess guilt felt by Catholics and lapsed Catholics.
Background
The Catholic Church teaches that "Confession" is one name for the Sacrament, whereas another name, the "Sacrament of Reconciliation", highlights that it is an external expression of internal transformation. It is also the case that Confession is no longer regarded by some as the essence of the sacrament; they prefer to emphasise the aspects of healing and forgiveness. This aspect is of course included in the Catholic Catechism.
The basic form of confession has changed over the centuries. In the early history of the Catholic Church, confessions were made publicly, not only before the priest but also before the congregation. The Penitential Rite at the beginning of the Mass is a liturgical rudiment of this previously sacramental confession. This was discontinued, since for fear of shame it was thought that some might avoid public confession, and private confession became the normal way in which this sacrament was and is practiced, with a strict seal of secrecy on the part of the priest. Sometimes the practice of the sacrament emphasized doing acts of penance, sometimes it emphasized making one's sorrow or contrition authentic, sometimes it emphasized confessing all one's serious (mortal) sins, sometimes it emphasized the power of the priest to absolve the penitent of sin, and currently there are forms that include simply one-on-one confession to a priest or communal preparation and then one-on-one confession to a priest.
