NCR interviews James O'Toole, whose new book, For I Have Sinned, details the growth and eventual decline of confession in the ...

Confession, the Catholic and Orthodox practice of listing one’s sins in the presence of a priest who then offers absolution and is sworn to secrecy under pain of eternal damnation, has long been a ...

In recent years, some Catholics have been concerned by pushes from governments in locations such as Louisiana and Australia who challenge the secrecy of the sacrament of confession, asking that ...

While clergy are often mandatory reporters outside of the confessional, long-standing legal precedent in the U.S. recognizes the religious freedom of confessors and penitents to be exempt from those ...

The Catholic Church and federal government reacted vehemently to new legislation in Washington state that requires priests to report child abuse or neglect to law enforcement after learning about the ...

What I said to the priest at my last confession is none of your business. It also wasn’t that interesting, so you didn’t miss much. In the usual way of this Catholic sacrament, it started with an ...