From public confession to private penance: How Catholic confession has evolved over centuries

By Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions, University of Dayton

The 1953 Alfred Hitchcock film “I Confess,” based on an earlier play, features a priest suspected of murder. He’s innocent, and has even heard the murderer’s confession – but cannot clear his own name.

The Catholic sacrament of reconciliation, also known as penance or confession, has been a compelling set piece for fiction writers over the ages, from medieval novels to contemporary films. One reason the practice…

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