Crisis of confession and mystery of penance in the Church

This article examines the contemporary crisis of sacramental confession in Christian Churches, both Latin and Eastern. Adopting a theological and pastoral approach, Mélitina Henri Fabre analyzes the deep causes of a malaise widely prevalent among the faithful. The author argues that this crisis is not primarily psychological or disciplinary, but reveals an impoverished conception of the Church and its eucharistic nature. She identifies three levels of distortion: the break with the liturgical spirit, the reduction of the sacrament to a disciplinary obligation, and a moral individualism that obscures the ecclesial and eschatological dimension of metanoia. The theological contribution of the article lies in the proposal of a liturgical refoundation of penance, conceived not as egocentric purification but as reintegration into the eucharistic movement of the Church, in the image of the washing of feet.