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Guest
Yes, but it only applies under grave circumstances. A Catholic may likewise receive for grave reasons, without sacramental confession… But to make this the norm, for Catholics or non-Catholics would, I think, undermine our entire theology of confession. The Church recognizes that sin can be absolved outside of the sacrament (by making a perfect act of contrition), but that the sacrament is the ordinary way of receiving forgiveness is a matter of doctrine not mere discipline.However, see Canon 844, para. 4, above.