All of us are sinners, and we deserve eternal death. However God, in his great mercy, sent his only Son to save us from our sins. As the Gospel says: "His name is Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus Christ entrusted to the Apostles and their successors the authority to forgive sins, when he said: "As the Father sent me, so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained" (John 20:21-23).
The Church forgives sins through the sacraments of Baptism and Penance:
Baptism removes the original sin;
Penance removes all actual sins.
Since the Lord forgives all our sins, we must also forgive whole-heartedly our brothers and sisters. As we pray in the Our Father: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" (Matthew 6:12).
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