A Scientology minister who has been duly trained and certified in the Confessional procedure of the Church of Scientology and is in good standing with the Church with his certificates in force, is invested with the power to forgive the admitted sins of an individual to whom he has administered full Confessional procedure.

Confessionals have been part and parcel of religion nearly as long as religion has existed.

It has been broadly recognized down through the ages that only when a person has owned up to his sins can he experience relief from the burden of guilt he carries because of them.

In Scientology we have had, since the early years, procedures whereby an individual is able to confess his withholds and the overt acts underlying them. We have long known that confessing one’s overt acts is the first step toward taking responsibility for them and seeking to make things right again.

On any adverse reaction to the proclamation of forgiveness, get the rest of the withhold or repair the withhold session.

The acknowledgement that follows each confession in Scientology procedure is an assurance to the person that his confession has been heard.

When the Scientology minister doing a Confessional or Ethics Repair List acknowledges the confession and informs the person that his confessed overts and withholds are forgiven, the usual response is instant relief and VGIs. Rarely the person may react adversely such as not being able to accept forgiveness or still feeling bad. This is because something has been missed. The person is still stuck in the shame, blame and regret of the unconfessed overt or withhold and will not feel better until all is told. The Scientology minister encountering this in session must get the rest of the withhold or repair the withhold session. Should the person show this reaction later, outside of session, the folder must be turned in to the C/S to handle immediately.

Such assurance helps him to end cycle on the bad things he has done and unsticks him from a preoccupation with his guilt over them to where he can then put his attention on constructive activities.

An incomplete confession can be due to the following errors:

That is the purpose of any Confessional.

(a) Did not tell “all.”

There is another element that further helps the individual to accomplish this, and that is forgiveness.

(b) Thought of one overt, but told a different overt.

Thus, at the end of a Confessional, when it has been fully completed, the Scientology auditor who has administered the Confessional must inform the person that he is forgiven for the sins he has just confessed, and that he is cleared of these sins and free of them.

(c) Told part of a withhold but not the rest.

The statement that is used is:

(d) An overt or withhold was not taken earlier similar to basic.

“By the power invested in me, any overts and withholds you have fully and truthfully told me are forgiven by Scientologists.”

(e) During the session an overt or withhold was restimulated, but not asked for or gotten off.

A special certificate is to be issued to each Scientology minister who has been trained and certified on the Level II Course or the Confessional Course to administer Confessional procedure, and who is in good standing with the Church with his certificates in force, investing him with the power to forgive the sins confessed to him by an individual in a Confessional session.

(f) There have been errors in the Confessional such as withholds gotten off more than once, false reads, out-TRs, invalidation, evaluation, etc., and these must be cleaned up.

Any auditor who is trained to deliver the Ethics Repair List has priority in the issuance of such certificate.

The above categories and the Confessional Repair List are useful to a C/S in correcting any adverse reaction to the Power to Forgive Proclamation, by ensuring that the person gets the full relief and VGIs which invariably accompany a complete confession and forgiveness.