Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)

The Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation (commonly called Confession, Reconciliation or Penance) is one of seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and sacred mysteries of Eastern Christianity, in which the faithful obtain divine mercy 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 sins which would otherwise condemn a person to Hell. As biblical basis for this sacrament, the Catholic Church refers to James 5:16, "confess your sins to one another" and to Jesus' breathing the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, saying "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23).

Elements of the sacrament

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).