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Article: Whatever happened to confession? Catholics' relationship to the sacrament of reconciliation reflects changing mores.(CONFESSION)(Cover story)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- February 9, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A sacrament's history in the church
A look at the history of the sacrament of penance reminds us that it has not always taken the same shape. The early church practiced public penance, an experience that Christians usually had only once in their lives, either at the time of their conversion or just before death. Private aural confession emerged in Ireland first, then spread to the rest of Europe in the sixth century. The idea that believers might seek forgiveness repeatedly and on a regular basis did not become common until 200 years after that. Annual confession was not mandated by the church until 1215. About the same time it began to be included among the ...