Questions / The Church and the Pope

What if I cannot remember all my sins?

Church teaching

Answered on video by Fr. Mark Goring on Pints with Aquinas

Video: Does God Forgive Sins If I Forget to Confess? w/ Fr. Mark Goring, Matt Fradd, published Feb 15, 2021. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

In short: Relax. If you honestly confess what you can remember, you’ve put all of it in front of God’s mercy. CCC 1456

The answer, in writing

Church teaching

The Church asks penitents to confess all the serious sins they are aware of after an honest examination of conscience. CCC 1456

The Catechism quotes the Council of Trent: when the faithful strive to confess all the sins they can remember, they place all of them before God’s mercy. CCC 1456

Our words

Do an honest look back, say what you remember, and trust God with the rest. If you remember something serious later, just mention it next time.

Watch another on this

Play video: How Can Catholics Say There's No Salvation Outside the Church?, Catholic Answers, from Catholic Answers Live, 3 min. Loads from YouTube when pressed.

Does the Church say people outside it cannot be saved?

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Sources on this page

How we know · 1 Catechism paragraph

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1456 (official text on vatican.va).

Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words and cites every teaching claim. Our own wording is not an official Church text. Found a mistake? Report an errorCorrections.