The Protestant probably thinks of a dimly-lit church with rows of curtain-draped boxes along the side or at the rear. The lone individual slips into one, kneels, and begins to whisper to an unknown hearer on the other side of the partition, "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." Then, thinks the Protestant, after mumbling through a catalog of misdemeanors, the Catholic penitent is assigned some token duty, such as saying a few prayers, and then is free to go and do those same things all over again. And, what is worse, with the assurance that next week the process can be repeated all over again!

The Protestant probably knows nothing of the new rite of penance in Roman Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council, with its introduction of reconciliation rooms where priest and penitent can…