Catechism of the Catholic Church §1456 — excerpt
Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last…
This translation is under copyright, so only the cited words are quoted here. Follow the link for the full text. Translation: English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), as posted at vatican.va.
Also cites: Council of Trent (1551): DS 1680 (ND 1626) · St. Jerome, In Eccl. 10, 11: PL 23:1096