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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 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>

In the Catholic and Orthodox churches, all mortal sins are to be confessed in order to obtain full forgiveness, while not all venial (lesser) sins need be expressed.<ref>"We commit a venial sin (one which can be forgiven outside confession) [...]" and "God will forgive the sinner of these minor sins if he confesses them to God in prayer with sincere repentance." - Reaching Catholics For Christ: [http://www.reachingcatholics.org/mortal.html Mortal and Venial Sin]</ref>  The sacrament of confession is for baptized believers; if one has not been baptized yet, then sins are forgiven through the sacrament of [[baptism]] instead.

Sacramental Confession is usually made in a confidential manner, and clergymen are duty-bound never to disclose a confession.  Numerous legal protections also respect this confidentiality in the very rare instance of an attempt to force disclosure.

In churches within the  [[Anglican Communion]], private confession to a priest is offered, but not required under the mantra of "all can, some should, none must." A general confession is offered during the service for all sins as in Anglicanism no distinction between mortal sins and venial sins exists.

The Bible teaches distinctions between greater and lesser sins, blasphemies forgiven and never forgiven, sins not mortal (venial) and mortal: John 11:19; Matthew 12:31-32; 1 John 5:16-17.

==Alternate Definitions of Confession==
Confession in a secular sense is any admission of a wrongdoing, written or spoken.<ref>Merriam-Webster - [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=confession "confession"]</ref> 

In Church history, Confession in a non-sacramental sense has played a central role in Christianity from its earliest days, as in the example of the [[Confessions of St. Augustine]]. 

The word "confession" also has the alternate meaning of "profession", of professing true Christian faith, making a Christian profession by confessing Christ before unbelievers as a testimony of [[Winessing|witness]], including the witness of [[martyrdom]] in the face of [[persecution]] (Greek μαρτυς (martus) ''martyr'' = "witness"). "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." [http://biblehub.com/multi/hebrews/3-1.htm Hebrews 3:1].<ref>See also 1 Timothy 2:10; 6:12; Hebrews 4:14; 10:23.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ex opere operato and ex opere operantis]]
* [[Sacrament]]s in the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]]
** [[Baptism]]
** [[Eucharist]] (the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion)
** [[Confession|Penance and Reconciliation]] (Confession)
** [[Confirmation]] (Chrismation)
** [[Holy Orders]]
** [[Marriage]] (Holy Matrimony)
** [[Anointing of the Sick]] (Extreme Unction, Last Rites)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Catholic Church Sacraments]]
[[Category:Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Christian Rites]]

[[Category:Morality]]
[[Category:Religion]]