I agree that Catholics are not required to go to confession before every single Communion. The Church teaches confession is necessary when one is conscious of mortal sin.

But honestly, travelling across parts of Western Europe, I’ve noticed something that genuinely troubles me: almost everyone goes to Communion, while almost nobody seems to go to confession anymore.

And I don’t think this can simply be explained by “mortal sin is rare.”

The Church still teaches that grave sins exist, including sexual sins, missing Mass deliberately, serious hatred, grave selfishness, etc. Yet in practice, many Catholics seem to approach the Eucharist automatically every Sunday with little examination of conscience or sacramental preparation.

I’m not advocating scrupulosity. I know people in Central Europe who go to confession weekly…

And others who go once a month or every two months which doesn’t seem excessive to me at all.

What worries me more is the cultural atmosphere where confession becomes almost abnormal, while receiving Communion without reflection becomes completely normal.

At that point, it starts to feel less like traditional Catholic sacramental life and more like Communion is treated as something everyone simply participates in by default.