On the subject of Confession the Guardian's secretary wrote
on his behalf to an individual believer: 'We are forbidden to confess to any
person, as do the Catholics to their priests, our sins and shortcomings, or to
do so in public, as some religious sects do. However, if we spontaneously
desire to acknowledge we have been wrong in something, or that we have some
fault of character, and ask another person's forgiveness or pardon, we are
quite free to do so. The Guardian wants to point out, however, that we are not
obliged to do so. It rests entirely with the individual'.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter of the
Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, March
19, 1973; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
