But not until now have we understood the exact mechanism behind justification. Short of applying Scientology procedures, there was no means by which a person could relieve himself of consciousness of having done an overt act, except to try to lessen the overt. Some churches and other groups have used confession in an effort to relieve a person of the pressure of his overt acts. However, lacking a full understanding of all the mechanisms at play, it has had limited workability. For a confession to be truly effective, revelation of one's wrongdoing must be accompanied by a full acceptance of responsibility.
All overt acts are the product of irresponsibility in some area or aspect of life.
Withholds are a sort of overt act in themselves but have a different source. Man is good to such an extent that when he realizes he is being very dangerous and in error he seeks to minimize his power and if that doesn't work and he still finds himself committing overt acts he then seeks to dispose of himself either by leaving or by getting caught and executed. Why police punish the caught criminal is the mystery. He wants to be rendered less harmful to the society and wants rehabilitation. People withhold overt acts because they conceive that telling them would be another overt act.