The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is one of seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and sacred mysteries of Eastern Christianity, in which the faithful obtain divine mercy for the sins committed against God and neighbors and are reconciled with the community of the Church.
By this sacrament Christians are freed from sins committed after Baptism. The sacrament of penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sins which, it is believed, would otherwise condemn a person to Hell.