Title: Reconciliation Service in the Catholic Church
Headings: What Is a Reconciliation Service?
What Is a Reconciliation Service?
And Can It Substitute for Confession in the Catholic Church?
General Absolution Versus Confession
The Fall and Rise of Reconciliation Services

Content: Reconciliation Service in the Catholic Church
Abrahamic / Middle Eastern Christianity
What Is a Reconciliation Service? And Can It Substitute for Confession in the Catholic Church? Share
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By
Scott P. Richert
Catholicism Expert
M.A., Political Theory, Catholic University of America
B.A., Political Theory, Michigan State University
Scott P. Richert is senior content network manager of Our Sunday Visitor. He has written about Catholicism for outlets including Humanitas and Catholic Answers Magazine. our editorial process
Scott P. Richert
Updated June 25, 2019
In the 1970's and 1980's, "reconciliation services" were all the rage in the Catholic Church in the United States. In part, a response to a decline in Catholics participating in the Sacrament of Confession, reconciliation services, unfortunately, ended up accelerating that decline, to the point where the Vatican had to step in and make it clear that such services could not substitute for the sacrament itself. When Catholic churches first started holding reconciliation services, the idea was that the half-hour or hour-long service would help prepare those who attended for participation in Confession and allow those who had been reluctant to go to Confession to see that many others were in the same boat. Such services generally took the form of Scripture readings, perhaps a homily, and a priest guided examination of conscience.​
In the early days of reconciliation services, priests from neighboring parishes would cooperate: One week, all the priests in the area would come to one parish for the service; the next week, they would go to another.