According to the Baltimore Catechism...
Q. May a person
who has forgotten to tell a mortal sin in confession go to Holy Communion before
going again to confession?
A. A person who
has forgotten to tell a mortal sin in confession may go to communion before
again going to confession, because the forgotten sin was forgiven with those
confessed, and the confession was good and worthy.
And...
Q. Is our
Confession worthy if, without our fault, we forget to confess a mortal sin?
A. If without our
fault we forget to confess a mortal sin, our Confession is worthy, and the sin
is forgiven; but it must be told in Confession if it again comes to our mind.
As the Catechism of
the Council of Trent indicates...
"But should the
confession seem defective, either because the penitent forgot some grievous
sins, or because, although intent on confessing all his sins, he did not examine
the recesses of his conscience with sufficient accuracy, he is not bound to
repeat his confession. It will be sufficient, when he recollects the sins which
he had forgotten, to confess them to a priest on a future occasion. It should be
noted, however, that we are not to examine our consciences with careless
indifference, or to be so negligent in recalling our sins as to seem as if
unwilling to remember them. Should this have been the case, the confession must
by all means be made over again."
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