<P> The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation ( commonly called Penance , Reconciliation , or Confession ) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church ( called sacred mysteries in the Eastern Catholic Churches ) , in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church . By this sacrament Christians believe they are freed from sins committed after Baptism . The sacrament of Penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sin , by which one would otherwise possibly condemn oneself to Hell . Catholic theology regarding the forgiveness of sins debates whether Christ at the judgment of the individual after their death would allow those with unconfessed mortal sins a chance to repent and save themselves - especially those who had not made plans to confess , or were not mentally ill , coerced , or suicidal ( which the Church has said all would reduces one 's culpability ) . While persons with certain unconfessed mortal sins that were under some form of censure still at their death might not be allowed a Catholic Funeral Mass and burial rites , and while Catholics with unconfessed mortal sins may not receive Communion ( unless in some circumstances , ameliorating factors were present ) , these matters , though related , are not the same as whether an individual with unconfessed serious sins is condemned to Hell . </P>
what does the sacrament of penance and reconciliation offer to those who participate
absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour