Confession (Penance, Reconciliation)
The sacrament of confessing sins to a priest and receiving absolution.
Confession is the sacrament in which a person confesses sins to a priest and receives sacramental absolution. The Catholic Church calls the rite the Sacrament of Penance (older usage) or the Sacrament of Reconciliation (modern usage); the Orthodox Church calls it Confession; the Anglican tradition has a parallel rite available though less universally practiced. Catholic First Reconciliation is required before First Communion (CIC c. 914). The seal of the confessional, the priest's absolute confidentiality about what is confessed, is held inviolable in Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican practice.