Reconciliatio
et Paenitentia
Introduction
Reconciliation and Penance is an apostolic exhortation by Pope John Paul II, delivered on 2
December 1984 in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, which grew out of the Sixth General Assembly of
the Synod of Bishops held in 1983. The fourth of John Paul II's apostolic exhortations, it presents
Jesus as the Reconciler of a shattered world.
Edifice of the Document
John Paul II began the exhortation by recalling from the Gospel of Mark 1:15, the very words with
which Jesus began his preaching: "Repent, and believe in the Gospel". Building on that theme, the
pope addressed "reconciliation and penance in the mission of the Church today". Continuing his
teaching on the mystery of Redemption, the pope presented Jesus as the Reconciler of a shattered
world and urged the Church and the world to rediscover the path of penance, the only path that can
lead to full reconciliation.
The exhortation has three parts, as well as an introduction and conclusions. The introduction
discusses the modern world's divisions and difficulties. It stresses the inherent desire of humanity for
reconciliation. The first chapter discusses the fact that the mission of the Church remains the
conversion of hearts.
The second part is titled: "The Love that is Greater than Sin" and singles out sin as the cause of the
wounds that individuals inflict on themselves, on God and their neighbours. It discusses the personal
and social dimensions of sin. The third chapter discusses the means by which the Church fosters
penance, reconciliation and healing, returning to the theme of Mark 1:15: "Repent, and believe in the
Gospel".
The final part includes a call for unity and conversion of hearts. The teachings on structural sin in
this exhortation were also later discussed in the pope's 1987 encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis.
Essence of the Document
The pope used the parable of the prodigal son to explain the process of conversion and
reconciliation, and that God the Father is "rich in mercy" and always ready to forgive.
"Reconciliation is principally a gift of the heavenly Father," and an initiative on his part. He observes
that the older brother also needs to be converted from his selfishness and jealousy. Each person is
both the prodigal son and the older brother, both in need of reconciliation.
John Paul describes sin as "...the disobedience of a person who, by a free act, does not acknowledge
God's sovereignty over his or her life, at least at that particular moment in which he or she
transgresses God's law," and it is sin which is ultimately the cause of all divisions and conflicts
within human society. The exhortation also discussed John Paul II's view of "structural sin". The
pope insists on sin as a free personal act. He views "social sin" in three ways: first that personal sin
has social effects, second that some sins directly affect the neighbour, and third that social sin refers
to relationships between human communities. The pope rejected the separation and contrasting of
personal and social sin in a way that leads to the dilution and eventual abolition of personal sin, and
the substitution of social guilt and responsibility in its place.
He concurs with Pope Pius XII's statement that "the sin of the century is the loss of the sense of
sin," and reaffirms the Church's teaching on the distinction between mortal and venial sins. He
deplores a view that all failings are blamed upon society, and the individual is declared innocent of
them, or which so emphasizes environmental and historical conditioning and their influences that it
reduces man's responsibility to the point of not acknowledging his ability to perform truly human
acts and therefore his ability to sin.
