Penance

Also known as CONFESSION or RECONCILIATION

Since the new life of grace received in Baptism does not abolish the weakness of human nature nor the inclination to sin, Christ instituted this sacrament for the conversion of the baptized who have been separated from him by sin.

The essential elements of this sacrament are two: the acts of the penitent who comes to repentance through the action of the Holy Spirit, and the absolution of the priest who in the name of Christ grants forgiveness and determines the ways of making satisfaction.