Digital Logos Edition
The sacrament of penance has fallen on hard times in recent decades. There is a much diminished use of the sacrament, and frequent reports of dissatisfaction with the experience of it on the part of both penitents and confessors. Reversing this trend would seem to require a changed mentality. In The Future of the Sacrament of Penance, Father Frank O’Loughlin aims to equip us for just such a change. First, O’Loughlin explores the rise of the varied forms of the sacrament of penance, locating them within their respective ecclesial and social contexts and highlighting the considerable transitions through which this sacrament has gone. Building on this, he stimulates readers to look at the issues which remain to be addressed in this time of widespread change in order to move forward into a renewed understanding and use of the sacrament.