For Catholic women and men, the Sacrament of Reconciliation must be at the heart of the healing process. Guided by Scriptural mandates (Mt. 16:19; John 20:23; 2 Cor. 5:18-20), the priest is “the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner. The confessor is not the master of God’s forgiveness, but its servant” (CCC 1465-1466).
In the process of reconciliation, the priest is uniquely able to act as a representative of both God and community. As an ordained priest, he represents God’s mercy, which releases the sinner from guilt. Simultaneously, as a merely human member of the parish, he is also able to represent the support of the community which, together with him, prays for the peace and joy of the sinner and the sinner’s release from the bondage of shame.
Through this sacrament the sinner is reunited with the entire community of repentant sinners who share Christ’s table.