>Catholics can always go the the nearest priest, confess their sins and be immediately absolved from them. They don't have to deal with their conscience.

While the first sentence is true, the second captures neither the spirit nor the fine print of the ritual. I would agree with the general statement on differing temperaments, though would phrase it differently: there is a built-in accommodation and acknowledgement that human weakness can result in failure to be the best you can be, but to nevertheless continue to strive towards that goal, even after failing.

EDIT: In theory... I willingly acknowledge it doesn't always look like this in practice.