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Thursday, September 18, 2025

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Reconciliation

U.S. & World News

Confession by phone: Priest says it could be right in some situations

If a priest is wearing a mask and standing 3 feet or 6 feet away from a penitent requesting the sacrament of reconciliation, is he really more present to a penitent he knows than he would be by telephone?
U.S. & World News

Baltimore priests working to reverse decline in confession in novel ways

Confession has a confession to make: The sacrament of reconciliation isn't the draw it once was.
Only Jesus

A sacrament for healing shame

It is always surprising to me that people turn out in such great numbers for Ash Wednesday Mass. The symbol of ashes on the forehead is an ancient symbol of repentance. It is an acknowledgment that I have sinned and I need God’s mercy. Perhaps so many people come on Ash Wednesday because deep down they recognize a basic human need ­— the need to be freed from shame.
Catholic Hotdish

The Five Names of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sin causes alienation. Trust is broken. Relationships are weakened, damaged, and sometimes shattered.
U.S. & World News

Why the church law forbids violating the seal of confession

The seal of confession is so important and sacred that a priest would be automatically excommunicated under canon law for directly revealing the contents of a confession.
U.S. & World News

Repentant sinners need merciful confessors, not inquisitors, pope says

Priests must give hope to men and women seeking forgiveness, encouraging them in their struggle away from the slippery slope of sin, Pope Francis said.
Local News

Pastors: Confession offers path to healing and grace

“Our sins only cause fear, confusion, division and harm,” said Father Mark Moriarty, pastor of St. Agnes in St. Paul. “God doesn’t want us to stay in that kind of terrible and harmful state. He is waiting and planning and nudging and encouraging us to receive his mercy.”
From the Pope

Confessors should seek to bring penitents closer to Jesus, pope says

A good confessor is a good listener, Pope Francis said.
Ask Father Mike

Renouncing, not just confessing, our sins

Q. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve been praying and I’ve been to confession (repeatedly), but I seem to commit the same sins. Even worse, I know that Jesus promised that we would receive a closeness to God when we call out for him, but I haven’t experienced that.
Local News

Second local ’24 Hours for the Lord’ an invitation to God’s mercy

As the sky lightened outside the Cathedral of St. Paul, a handful of people sat in a pew, waiting to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. A few others prayed near the front of the church, adoring the Eucharist in the monstrance on the altar. Adoration accompanying the round-the-clock confessions was new to the event this year.
Catholic Watchmen

Fighting the good fight

“Who do you think would win in a fight — me or Enzo?”
From the Pope

Don’t treat confessional like a dry cleaners, pope says

The confessional is a place where one can go to humbly seek forgiveness; it is not a dry cleaners where one goes to remove the occasional stain, Pope Francis said.
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