CHICAGO — Chicago's Cardinal Francis George is facing a major challenge to his efforts to curb a longstanding practice by some priests of giving penitents general absolution. A group of about 100 ...

Offering general absolution to the faithful without having them personally confess their sins first may still be done in places seeing serious or increasing levels of coronavirus infections, a Vatican ...

Addressing the difficulty Catholic priests globally are having in hearing confessions of individual persons affected by the highly contagious coronavirus, the Vatican made clear March 20 that it is ...

Rituals of purification or moral cleansing are common in many religious traditions. For example, ritual washing before prayer, public worship, (re)inclusion, or other religious activities is present ...