After the customary greetings, the penitent crosses himself: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." The priest urges the penitent to have confidence in God.

Q. 727. Does the priest ever refuse absolution to a penitent? A. The priest must and does refuse absolution to a penitent when he thinks the penitent is not rightly disposed for the Sacrament.

VISITORS to Spain during Easter week might gasp in horror when they see people in conical white hoods parading through the ...

False optimism is a poison. The reasons for pessimism are true whether you acknowledge them or not. And it’s only by acknowledging them that you can hope to correct them. It’s a good thing, then, to ...

Roman Catholic clergymen carry palm fronds during the Palm Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, ...

Only Luke recounts Jesus’ words to the penitent thief. Finally, Luke focuses more than the other evangelists on Jesus’ innocence. To narrow down a single reflection on Luke’s passion ...

Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At choral Evensong most of the ...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of three blesseds: an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred during the Armenian genocide, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea ...