The Church, "the pillar and bulwark of the truth", Faithfully guards "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints". She guards the memory of Christ's words; it is she who from generation to generation hands on the apostles' Confession of faith. 57 As a mother who teaches her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life of faith.

Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every Priest who hears Confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the Sins that his penitents have confessed to him. He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives. 72 This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the "Sacramental seal," because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains "sealed" by the Sacrament.

Like all the Sacraments, Penance is a liturgical action. the elements of the celebration are ordinarily these: a greeting and blessing from the Priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the Confession, which acknowledges Sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest's absolution; a prayer of thanksgiving and praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest.

The Sacrament of Penance can also take place in the framework of a communal celebration in which we prepare ourselves together for Confession and give thanks together for the forgiveness received. Here, the personal confession of Sins and individual absolution are inserted into a liturgy of the word of God with readings and a homily, an examination of conscience conducted in common, a communal request for forgiveness, the Our Father and a thanksgiving in common. This communal celebration expresses more clearly the ecclesial character of penance. However, regardless of its manner of celebration the Sacrament of Penance is always, by its very nature, a liturgical action, and therefore an ecclesial and public action. 90

In case of Grave necessity recourse may be had to a communal celebration of Reconciliation with general Confession and general absolution. Grave necessity of this sort can arise when there is imminent danger of death without sufficient time for the Priest or priests to hear each penitent's confession. Grave necessity can also exist when, given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors to hear individual confessions properly in a reasonable time, so that the penitents through no fault of their own would be deprived of Sacramental grace or Holy Communion for a long time. In this case, for the absolution to be valid the Faithful must have the intention of individually confessing their Sins in the time required. 91 The diocesan bishop is the judge of whether or not the conditions required for general absolution exist. 92 A large gathering of the faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages does not constitute a case of grave necessity. 93

"Individual, integral Confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the Faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession." 94 There are profound reasons for this. Christ is at work in each of the Sacraments. He personally addresses every sinner: "My son, your Sins are forgiven." 95 He is the physician tending each one of the sick who need him to cure them. 96 He raises them up and reintegrates them into fraternal communion. Personal confession is thus the form most expressive of Reconciliation with God and with the Church.

Difference of Confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. the spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. Differences about Faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards the education of children. the temptation to religious indifference can then arise.

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the Confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is Faithful." 84 "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." 85

The division and numbering of the Commandments have varied in the course of history. the present catechism follows the division of the Commandments established by St. Augustine, which has become traditional in the Catholic Church. It is also that of the Lutheran Confessions. the Greek Fathers worked out a slightly different division, which is found in the Orthodox Churches and Reformed communities.

Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror; by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They are morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it is Gravely against justice and charity. Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract Confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity. Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law. 90

The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry. Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his mission: before his Father's witness to him during his baptism and Transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the Father's plan of love by his Passion. 43 He also prays before the decisive moments involving the mission of his apostles: at his election and call of the Twelve, before Peter's Confession of him as "the Christ of God," and again that the Faith of the chief of the Apostles may not fail when tempted. 44 Jesus' prayer before the events of salvation that the Father has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will to the loving will of the Father.

Certain particularly Grave Sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the Sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or Priests authorized by them. 68 In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing Confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication. 69

Without being strictly necessary, Confession of everyday faults (venial Sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. 59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this Sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful: 60

Whoever says "I believe" says "I pledge myself to what we believe." Communion in Faith needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same Confession of faith.

These are the words with which the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed begins. the Confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian Faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance and essence." 3

The apostolic Faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." 71 By this Confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity". 72 But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son." 73 The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified." 74

The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beloved Son". 53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence. 54 He asks for Faith in "the name of the only Son of God". 55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God", 56 that Christian Confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning.

By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first Confessions of the Church's Faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God", 65 and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory. 66

For a moment Jesus discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter's Confession. He also reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in order to "enter into his glory". 295 Moses and Elijah had seen God's glory on the Mountain; the Law and the Prophets had announced the Messiah's sufferings. 296 Christ's Passion is the will of the Father: the Son acts as God's servant; 297 The cloud indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit. "The whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud." 298

The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin. 397 Citing a Confession of Faith that he himself had "received", St. Paul professes that "Christ died for our Sins in accordance with the scriptures." 398 In particular Jesus' redemptive death fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Servant. 399 Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God's suffering Servant. 400 After his Resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles. 401

The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." the Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church." 307 In her subsists the fullness of Christ's body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him "the fullness of the means of salvation" 308 which he has willed: correct and complete Confession of Faith, full Sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. the Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost 309 and will always be so until the day of the Parousia.

It is called the Sacrament of Confession, since the disclosure or confession of Sins to a Priest is an essential element of this Sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment 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." 6 It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." 7 He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother." 8

Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this Sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, Confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. the Church, who through the bishop and his Priests forgives Sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the sinner and does Penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial communion.

When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called "perfect" (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial Sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to Sacramental Confession as soon as possible. 51

The Confession (or disclosure) of Sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our Reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.

Confession to a Priest is an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance: "All mortal Sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." 54

According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the Faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious Sins at least once a year." 56 Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received Sacramental absolution, unless he has a Grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to Confession. 57 Children must go to the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time. 58

With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. 133 Our petition begins with a "Confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the forgiveness of Sins." 134 We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the Sacraments of his Church. 135