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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.
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Does the Church still teach you have to go to confession before receiving Communion?

Question:

Does the Church still teach you have to go to confession before receiving Communion? My pastor says you don’t.

Answer:

Your pastor may say you don’t, but canon law says you do—at least if you know you’re guilty of any unconfessed mortal sin. According to canon 916,

A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or to receive the body of Christ without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity for confessing; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make a perfect act of contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible.

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