Originally published April 26, 2017; substantially revised and updated April 26, 2025.
Pope Francis on mercy repeatedly returned to one hope-filled truth: while a person is alive, no sinner is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Divine mercy does not deny the seriousness of sin or remove the need for repentance. It seeks the sinner, awakens the conscience, and makes a return to God possible—even when that return begins with only the smallest honest movement of the heart.
What Did Pope Francis Mean by “Sorry That You Are Not Sorry”?
In The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis discusses a scene from Bruce Marshall’s 1949 novel To Every Man a Penny. A condemned German officer is asked by Father Gaston to repent. The man admits that he is not truly sorry for his sins and would commit them again if he had the opportunity. The priest then asks whether he is at least sorry that he is not sorry. The officer says yes.
Pope Francis describes this as a door opened only a crack. The exchange is a literary illustration of grace beginning to work in a resistant heart; it is not a complete description of the conditions for sacramental absolution. The officer has not yet reached mature repentance, but he has stopped pretending that his heart is rightly ordered. That first moment of truth can become the beginning of conversion.
Mercy Begins With Truth
God’s mercy meets us as we are, but it does not leave us there. We do not need to wait until our emotions feel perfect before turning toward Him. Grace can begin in an imperfect heart—with fear, uneasiness, shame, or the admission that we do not yet love God as we should.
Yet mercy is never permission to remain attached to sin. It calls us to name sin honestly, ask forgiveness, and surrender our will to God. Feeling sorry that we are not sorry may be an opening to grace, but it must grow into real contrition and a sincere decision to turn away from sin.
What Is Perfect Contrition?
Perfect contrition is sorrow for sin that arises from love of God above all else. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1451–1453, teaches that such contrition remits venial sins and even obtains forgiveness of mortal sins before sacramental confession, provided it includes the firm resolution to go to confession as soon as possible. Perfect contrition does not replace the sacrament; it leads to it.
What Is Imperfect Contrition?
Imperfect contrition (also called attrition) is sorrow that arises from recognizing sin’s ugliness or from fear of punishment. It, too, is a gift of God. By itself it does not forgive grave sin, but within the Sacrament of Penance it disposes the sinner to receive forgiveness. Genuine sorrow, even when imperfect, together with confession and a sincere purpose of amendment, is sufficient for sacramental absolution. Perfect contrition remains the ideal toward which every Christian should grow.
For a fuller explanation, read The Power of Contrition.
Confession and the Intention to Sin No More
A purpose of amendment does not mean promising that we will never fall again. Human weakness may remain, and temptation may return. It means that, at the present moment, we sincerely reject the sin and intend to avoid it. We cannot seek absolution while deliberately planning to continue the same wrongdoing.
What Is an Act of Perfect Contrition?
An act of perfect contrition is a prayer of sorrow made out of love for God rather than fear of punishment. The traditional Act of Contrition expresses both motives: it names the dread of losing heaven and the pains of hell, and then adds “but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love.” Praying it sincerely, with the intention to confess as soon as possible, is a sound way to make an act of perfect contrition when a priest is not available—for example, in danger of death or when confession is impossible for a time.
Is It Ever Too Late to Repent?
Not while a person is alive. The teaching of Pope Francis on mercy gives reason for hope until the last breath. God can reach a soul very late, and the Church never tells us to despair of anyone who is still living. The reflection To Die Like a Thief considers this last-moment hope through the Good Thief without turning it into an excuse for delay.
Hope is not presumption. We should never postpone confession while assuming that a final opportunity will come. In Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis presents mercy as the heart of the Gospel and calls the Church to make that mercy visible. The safest response is to open the door to Christ today.
Return to Mercy Today
If you have been feeling distant from God, begin with one honest prayer and make a good confession as soon as you can. You may also pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, asking Jesus for the grace of genuine repentance and complete trust in Him.
No beginning offered to God is too small. Admit the truth, ask for grace, and take the next faithful step. Mercy can enter through a door opened only a crack, but Christ desires to open the whole heart to new life.