267 / 665
Chapter 18. Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation • 239
holy communion for a long period of time through no fault of their own”
(cf. CIC, can. 961). General absolution involves one priest’s giving abso-
lution to a group of people, who do not make individual confessions
to a priest. Those penitents guilty of serious or grave sin are expected to
make an individual confession as soon as possible but certainly within a
year of receiving general absolution. Judgment as to whether the condi-
tions for general absolution are present is a matter not for the confessor,
but for the diocesan bishop to determine under the guidance of norms
established by the Holy See.
Absolution from the Priest
After we confess our sins to the priest, we are given some encouragement
from the priest for our moral and spiritual growth. The priest then gives
us a penance and asks us to say an Act of Contrition. Then the priest
It is called the Sacrament of Conversion because it makes
sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the
first step in returning to the Father from whom one has
strayed by sin. It is called the Sacrament of Penance, since
it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial
steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. It is called
the Sacrament of Confession since the disclosure or con-
fession of sins is an essential element of this Sacrament.
In a profound sense, it is also a “confession”—acknowl-
edgment and praise—of the holiness of God and of his
mercy toward sinful man. It is called the Sacrament of
Forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution,
God grants the penitent “pardon and peace.” It is called
the Sacrament of Reconciliation because it imparts to the
sinner the love of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to
God” (2 Cor 5:20). He who lives by God’s merciful love is
ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go, first be reconciled
to your brother.” (CCC, nos. 1423-1424, citing Mt 5:24)
WHAT IS THIS SACRAMENT CALLED?