- Jesus gave His apostles (and, presumably, their successors) the power to forgive sins. The form of this is not specified.
- Our knowledge of the Church’s theology of penance in the earliest years of the Faith is meagre. Essentially the problem was that of dealing with sins committed after Baptism.
- A powerful current of thought in the 2nd century Church favoured the view that no remission was possible for sins deliberately committed after Baptism.
- This view is in line with the author of Hebrews and the author of 1 John.
- There were more liberal views among some of the earliet Fathers but we are completely in the dark about the practical arrangements. It is more than likely that there was corporate public confession with the absolution pronounced by the bishop or presbyter.
- With the dawn of the 3rd century the rough outline of a recognised penitential discipline was beginning to emerge, although there are still no signs of a sacrament of private penance (i.e., confession to a presbyter followed by absolution)
- The system which seems to have existed in the Church was wholly public, involving confession, a period of penance and exclusion from communion, then formal absolution and restoration.
- There is plenty of evidence that sinners were encouraged to open their hearts privately to a presbyter but nothing to show that this led up to anything more than counsel.
- Certainly in the last decades of the 2nd century adultery, homicide and idolatry (or apostasy) seem to have been treated in practice, if not in theory, as unforgivable. This was relaxed over a long period of time and local practice varied.
- In the 4th and 5th centuries there is no hard evidence of one-to-one private confession. Even St. Augustine is quite positive that the only form of penance known to him is public confession plus private confession of sins at home.
- It is not until much later that the present form of confession to a priest, followed by absolution came into being.
- One to one confession is practised by Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Anglo-Catholicism and Lutheranism.
- One to one confession and absolution is practised within Mormonism, In Buddhism one confesses to one’s superior, In Hinduism there is no formal penance involving another party but holy men have a ready ear
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, projected by John Paul II, confession of everyday sins in this sacrameent is
not strictly necessary. These may be dealt with in the Mass or in private prayer. The confession of serious sins is required at least once a year.
It is interesting to note that Jesus did not require confession of sins before He healed and forgave sins.
(With acknowledgements to Dr.JND Kelly)