Competences of a confessor in accompanying a penitent with obsessive-compulsive disorders related to the sacrament of penance

Abstract

Summary: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, that affects a man in different dimensions of his functioning in everyday life also involve the area of sacramental confession. The number of people struggling with the disorder is growing year by year. This is demonstrated by both psychological and pastoral practice. This article in its assumptions is going to help priests with effective accompaniment of these people. It is divided into three parts: first, concerns terminological issues that are to systematize knowledge about that, second, discussion of the sacrament of penance in the described context, and, third, practical suggestions both theological and psychological which should be a valued help for priests.