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The '''Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation''' (also known colloquially as '''Confession''', '''Reconciliation''', and '''Penance''') is one of the seven [[sacrament]]s of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], and Old Catholic churches. Among [[Protestant]]s, it is not considered a sacrament but is practiced in one fashion or another, often as a general confession recited by the entire congregation prior to receiving [[Communion]]. The admission of guilt usually is coupled with a request for forgiveness from sin.

The '''Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation''' (also known colloquially as '''Confession''', '''Reconciliation''', and '''Penance''') is one of the seven [[sacrament]]s of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], and Old Catholic churches. Among [[Protestant]]s, it is not considered a sacrament but is practiced in one fashion or another, often as a general confession recited by the entire congregation prior to receiving [[Communion]]. The admission of guilt is coupled with a request for forgiveness from sin. "Confess" is mentioned 48 times in the [[Bible]].<ref>[[ESV]] translation.</ref>

One may confess privately to God, but the [[Bible]] calls on believers to confess to each other, and many denominations—especially the ones named above—expect members to confess their sins to a priest so that he can absolve the penitent of his sins or reassure him of God's forgiveness. In the Catholic Church, the penitent is customarily given a penance (certain prayers) to be performed so that there will be a sense of reparation for sin and to remove some of the temporal punishment consequent to sin.<ref>[http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#1430 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1430-1498.]</ref>

One may confess privately to God, but the [[Bible]] calls on believers to confess to each other, and many denominations—especially the ones named above—expect members to confess their sins to a priest so that he can absolve the penitent of his sins or reassure him of God's forgiveness. In the Catholic Church, the penitent is customarily given a penance (certain prayers) to be performed so that there will be a sense of reparation for sin and to remove some of the temporal punishment consequent to sin.<ref>[http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#1430 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1430-1498.]</ref>