Vatican City – Pope Leon XIV has emphasized the importance of reconciliation as a pathway to inner peace and a rejection of violence, delivering a detailed address to participants in the 36th course on the internal forum organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary on March 13, 2026. The Pope’s remarks come at a time of increasing global fragmentation, highlighting the necessitate for individuals to find unity within themselves and with their faith.
Fabrice Bagendekere, SJ – Cité du Vatican
The training offered to priests and deacons, who refine their skills as confessors through the annual course offered by the Apostolic Penitentiary, was strongly supported by Saint John Paul II, confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI, and championed by Pope Francis, who consistently prioritized the merciful face of the Church. Pope Leon XIV urged members of the Penitentiary to continue this work, “deepening and expanding the training offered, so that the fourth sacrament is ever more deeply known, celebrated appropriately and thus lived serenely and effectively by all the holy people of God.”
Sin and Unity with the Creator
The Pope further explained the Church’s teaching on the sacrament of reconciliation, describing it as a “laboratory of unity” that restores a relationship with God through the forgiveness of sins and the infusion of grace. “This generates the inner unity of the person and unity with the Church. it also promotes peace and unity in the human family,” the Pontiff said.
Although, Pope Leon XIV cautioned against the idea that humanity can truly “break unity” with its Creator, questioning whether such a concept diminishes the revelation of God offered through Jesus. “Is this image not partial and, mortifying of the Revelation that Jesus has made to us of God?” he asked. He clarified that while sin disrupts “spiritual unity with God,” the fundamental ontological dependence of creation on the Creator remains unbroken. He acknowledged that the possibility of severing that spiritual connection is as real as the gift of freedom God has given to humanity.
Unity with God and the Church, a Prerequisite for Inner Unity
The Pontiff established that unity with God and the Church is “the prerequisite for the inner unity of persons, if ever necessary today, in this time of fragmentation.” “Only a reconciled person is capable of living without weapons and in a disarming way,” Pope Leon XIV stated, explaining that “whoever lays down the weapons of pride and allows himself to be continually renewed by the forgiveness of God becomes an artisan of reconciliation in everyday life.” This desire, he noted, is particularly strong among younger generations.
The Pope suggested that the unfulfilled promises of “unbridled consumerism” and the frustrating experience of “freedom detached from truth” can, through divine mercy, become opportunities for evangelization. These disappointments, by creating a sense of incompleteness, “allow us to raise these existential questions to which only Christ fully answers.”
The Church Called to be a House of Mercy
Turning to the theme of the current course – “The Church called to be a house of mercy” – the Pope emphasized that it would be incomprehensible “if one did not start from the root that is the risen Christ.” “The Church welcomes people, as a ‘house of mercy,’ because it welcomes above all its Lord continuously, in the Word listened to and proclaimed, and in the grace of the sacraments,” he said, reminding priests and deacons that “in the celebration of the sacramental confession, while penitents are reconciled with God and with the Church, the Church itself is built up, enriched by the renewed holiness of its repentant and forgiven sons.”
Finding Full Fulfillment in the Confessional
Addressing young and future priests, the Pope emphasized the weighty responsibility of their future role in administering this sacrament. “Always be fully aware of the very high mission that Christ himself, through the Church, entrusts to you: to restore the unity of people with God through the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation,” he said, adding that “the entire life of a priest can find its full fulfillment in celebrating this sacrament assiduously and faithfully.” He also encouraged them to regularly seek the sacrament of forgiveness themselves, “so as to always be the first beneficiaries of divine mercy, of which you have become – or will become – the ministers.”
Confession at Least Once a Year
The Pope also addressed the faithful, noting a “widespread distraction” that leads many to remain “for a long time” in a state of sin, “rather than approaching the confessional, with simplicity of faith and heart, to welcome the gift of the risen Lord.” While the sacrament of reconciliation has evolved throughout history, “both in its theological understanding and in its form of celebration,” leading the Church to progressively recognize its “meaning and function” and expand opportunities for its celebration, the frequency of sacramental practice does not always reflect a corresponding desire to utilize it. “It is as if the infinite treasure of the Church’s mercy remained ‘unused’,” the Vicar of Christ said. Recalling that “every faithful person, having reached the age of reason, is obliged to faithfully confess their grave sins, at least once a year,” in accordance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
