YOUCAT Question n. 151 - Part II. What possibilities are there for the forgiveness of sins in the Church?
(Youcat
answer - repeated) Fundamentally the forgiveness of sins occurs in the
sacrament of Baptism. After that the sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance,
confession) is necessary for the forgiveness of serious sins. For less serious
sins, confession is recommended. But reading Sacred Scripture, prayer, fasting,
and the performance of good works also have the effect of forgiving sins.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 979)
In this battle against our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and
watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church has the power
to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the
Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to
forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last
moment of their lives" (Roman
Catechism I, 11,4). (CCC 980) It is through the sacrament of Penance that
the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church: Penance has
rightly been called by the holy Fathers "a laborious kind of
baptism." This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those
who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for
those who have not yet been reborn (Council
of Trent (1551): DS 1672; cf. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 39, 17: PG 36, 356).
Reflecting and meditating
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 984)
The Creed links "the forgiveness of sins" with its profession of
faith in the Holy Spirit, for the risen Christ entrusted to the apostles the
power to forgive sins when he gave them the Holy Spirit. (CCC 985) Baptism is
the first and chief sacrament of the forgiveness of sins: it unites us to
Christ, who died and rose, and gives us the Holy Spirit. (CCC 986) By Christ's
will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the sins of the baptized and
exercises it through bishops and priests normally in the sacrament of
Penance.
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