The answer is very simple and yet touches the ultimate depth of our life: by true private confession and by divine forgiveness of all my sins. (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
To make it acceptable, however, he replaced the requirement of open personal disclosure with private confession to a priest. (religion-online.org)
Catholics, as we have seen, have traditionally been encouraged to make private confession to a priest, who offers them absolution. (religion-online.org)