Q: Is confession required for obtaining a plenary indulgence if there is no mortal sin? A diocesan hermit, who is homebound, ...

The 1953 Alfred Hitchcock film “I Confess,” based on an earlier play, features a priest suspected of murder. He’s innocent, and has even heard the murderer’s confession – but cannot clear his own name ...

These sleek guides to essential Catholic spiritual practices are great for beginners or anyone who needs a refresher. Catholic spiritual practices are sometimes easier said than done. How many times ...

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 ...

The release this month of a watershed report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France has sparked another debate over the secrecy of confession. The Catholic Church declares that every priest ...

In “The Guilty Vicarage,” an essay on detective fiction, W.H. Auden argues that the most successful detective novels take place in an apparent Eden (the cozy village, the ivied college, the country ...

Confession, the Catholic and Orthodox practice of listing one’s sins in the presence of a priest who then offers absolution and is sworn to secrecy under pain of eternal damnation, has long been a ...