Rituals of purification or moral cleansing are common in many religious traditions. For example, ritual washing before prayer, public worship, (re)inclusion, or other religious activities is present ...

Q: Recently I went to confession on Saturday afternoon before my parish's vigil Mass. The priest told me to say a rosary for ...

The new language for the priest’s absolution is allowed as of Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Priests must use the new language starting on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 16, the first Sunday after ...

You can find today’s readings here. “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” (Lk 5:23) I don’t know about you, but I admit I’m skeptical of arguments for ...

A: The short answer is no; you didn’t do anything wrong by receiving holy Communion before completing your penance.

When a Roman Catholic priest gives the “last rites,” he says, “I absolve you from all censures and sins.… I grant to you plenary indulgence and remission of all sins and I bless you.” Some Protestant ...

ROME — Catholic bishops in northeast Italy have said that the risk of illness amid the ongoing pandemic constitutes a “grave necessity” permitting priests to confer the Sacrament of Reconciliation ...

The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica is seen through trees in the Vatican Gardens. (Credit: Paul Haring/CNS.) Listen ROME — In places particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and with severe ...

A Swiss Catholic church installed an AI Jesus in a confessional booth. It won't do much for your eternal soul. Reading time 5 minutes This autumn, a Swiss Catholic church installed an AI Jesus in a ...

Addressing the difficulty Catholic priests globally are having in hearing confessions of individual persons affected by the highly contagious coronavirus, the Vatican made clear March 20 that it is ...