According to the
Catechism of the Council of Trent...
"Above all,
priests should be very careful not to give absolution to any penitent, whose
confession they have heard, without obliging him to make full satisfaction for
any injury to his neighbor's goods or character for which he seems responsible.
No person is to be absolved until he has first faithfully promised to restore
all that belongs to others."
Note that if someone
is unable to pay their debts, the Baltimore Catechism instructs as follows...
"If we cannot
restore all we owe, we must restore as much as we can, and if the person to whom
we should restore be dead we must restore to his children or heirs, and if these
cannot be found we may give alms to the poor."
And...
"One who cannot
pay his debts and yet wishes to receive the Sacraments must sincerely promise
and intend to pay them as soon as possible, and must without delay make every
effort to do so."
For injuries to
someone's character, one must "repair the injury done as far as they are able"
(Baltimore Catechism)
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