Confession

A modern confessional at the Church of the Holy Name in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Confession, also called Penance or Reconciliation, is a practice of the Catholic Church in which a person confesses sin to a priest. The priest then gives absolution of the sin, on the condition of some kind of response, such as repeating prayers.

According to the book Symbols of Catholicism, there are three "necessary steps to obtaining absolution." They are as follows:
1. Act of Contrition — Showing sorrow for committing the sin
2. Act of Confession — Telling the priest about the nature of the sin
3. Act of Satisfaction — Doing penance, such as saying prayersⁱ

These three steps and the nature of confession were confirmed by the Catholic Council of Trent's 14th session:

If anyone denies that for the full and perfect remission of sins three acts are required on the part of the penitent...namely, contrition, confession and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance...let him beanathema. If anyone denies that sacramental confession was instituted by divine law or is necessary for salvation; or says that the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the Catholic Church always observed from the beginning and still observes, is at variance with the institution and command of Christ and is a human contrivance, let him be anathema.ⁱⁱ