The
Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation (commonly called
Confession,
Reconciliation or
Penance) is one of seven
sacraments of the Catholic Church and
sacred mysteries of
Eastern Christianity, in which the faithful obtain
divine mercy for the
sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the
community of the
Church. By this sacrament Christians are freed from sins committed after
Baptism. The sacrament of Penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from
mortal sins which would otherwise condemn a person to Hell. As biblical basis for this sacrament, the Catholic Church refers to , "confess your sins to one another" and to Jesus' breathing the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, saying "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" .