Article II. On the Distinction of Sins

Since it belongs to the confessor as judge to know what kind of sins there have been, and how often they have been committed, so that according to the words of Christ he may be able to remit or retain them, it follows, as the Council of Trent observes,¹ that a man must set forth in confession his mortal sins according to their species and number; and the Confessor himself will have to assist the penitent, perhaps less conscious of this obligation, in this declaration. Therefore the distinction of sins, both specific and numerical, must be treated.

¹ Session XIV, chapter 5 and canon 7.