Reply #71: I'll have to go with ElboRuum on this one

[TechBear_Seattle]

The sacrament of penance (also called reconciliation) is kind of like brushing the teeth of the soul (well, actually brushing the teeth of the substantia, but we needn't get into the fine points of the neo-Platonism which the ancient churches adopted from pagan Rome.) It serves to clean off the plaque build-up and is not a substitute for a full dental cleaning, which comes first with being validly baptized and then regularly receiving the Body of Christ as defined and celebrated by the Church.

But keep in mind that most Christian baptisms are not valid according to the Church, so those of us who were given a Protestant baptism are probably (as of Vatican II) damned to Hell regardless, unless we become Catholics in good standing. Non-Christians revert to the pre Vatican II sentiment, which replaces "probably" with "most definitely."