Is It Nessasary To Confess How Many Times One Has Sinned?

[Steven87]

When in the confessional, do you have to confess how many times you have sinned? Because in my parish there is one priest who has asked once or twice the amount of times you have sinned, and there is another priest who doesn’t ask at all.

So to be forgiven, do you have to say the amount of times you have sinned?

 

[Jim_Blackburn]

To the best of your ability you should confess how many times you committed each grave sin. Code of Canon Law (988.1) is clear on this point:

A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet remitted directly through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which the person has knowledge after diligent examination of conscience.

If you don’t know an exact number you can, to the best of your ability, estimate or provide and approximation (e.g., “several times”). If you forget to do this or later remember additional occurrences of grave sins your sins are still forgiven but you should remember to acknowledge those sins at your next confession.