Priests say more Catholics returning to confession

Daily Bulletin ^ | March 25, 2007 | Selicia Kennedy-Ross

[NYer]

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned."

The words which usually serve as the opening to confession, a sacrament in the Catholic Church, are being heard more by local priests these days. The reason - confession seems to be making a comeback.

Although fewer people sought absolution in the post-Vatican II era, it appears as though confession, also known as the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, is on the rise in the Diocese of San Bernardino.

The Sacrament of Penance allows Catholics to confess their sins to a priest through a screen in a small closed confessional, under cover of darkness. They were then granted absolution from the priest.

But some things about confession have changed. The pitch-dark stalls of the confessional are mostly a thing of the past. Today, some confessionals have windows and many seeking confession face their priests.

Not all confessions are private anymore, either. Some of the devout partake in communal penance services.

The Rev. Michael Manning, pastor of St. Anthony's Church in San Bernardino, said he has seen the numbers rising at weekly confession services every Saturday and for seasonal penance services.

"Now what we're offering before Christmas and Easter is a communal confession time," Manning said. "We have several priests there, and we share a reflection on Scripture, then people will share one or two of their sins."

Highland resident Donna Rice, who is a practicing Catholic, said she prefers the penance services to whispering in the confessional.

"Speaking for myself, going to confession helps," said Rice, 56. "It's a good thing, to be reconciled back into the community, to hear from a priest, `Yes, you are forgiven.' Some people need permission to forgive themselves."

It isn't just older Catholics who are coming to confession, either. It's a good mix of young and old alike, Manning said.

"I think what's going on is we're living in a world that has become much more sensitive to our spiritual life and afterlife," he said. "The whole challenge of the afterlife is very strong in movies and television, and I think the media is simply mirroring the concerns of people these days. People are realizing they need more.

"There's an awareness of fragility of our own lives, with the war and the accounts of so many people who are dying. The security we once had we don't have any more with the gangs, violence and the war."

Rice agreed and said events such as Sept. 11, 2001, the war in Iraq and the sexual abuse that occurred within the church, may be driving people back to confession.

"I think people are just looking for answers as to why these things are going on," she said.

Michael Houran, a professor of religious education and pastoral theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said a communal service could be socially appealing.

"Nationally, there has been much written about Catholics' interest in a form of reconciliation that allows them to publicly celebrate their desire to be forgiven of their sinfulness," Houran said.

"This seems to me to be a positive trend because it recognizes that our sinfulness has social consequences. Therefore, why wouldn't you want to celebrate forgiveness in fairly large social context rather than only one-on-one with a priest?"

In the Diocese of San Bernardino, the 10th-largest diocese in the country, church officials say confession is on the rise.

In Hesperia, at least one church had been taking two hours for confession, and a penance service in Rancho Cucamonga this week served more than 1,000 people, officials said.

"The Catholic Church has always treasured the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation," said the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the San Bernardino Diocese, which encompasses San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

"And confession is increasing in our diocese."

Lincoln attributed the rise partly to the diocese's already large population. Catholics number more than 2.1 million in both counties.

Another reason is that the diocese is growing and there is a major influx of new residents from ethnic backgrounds that tend to be Roman Catholic.

Post-Vatican II, Catholics began to neglect the practice of confession. A 1980 University of Notre Dame study showed that 26 percent of active Catholics never attended confession.

The Rev. David Fitzgerald, pastor of Our Lady of Assumption in San Bernardino, said he too, has noticed confession making a comeback.

"There's no arguing that it was on the decline, but probably in the last five years, it's definitely making a big comeback," Fitzgerald said. "I encourage people to go to confession not just for renewal, but because it plays a role in their overall psychological and spiritual health and helps people live more balanced lives."

Two years ago, Our Lady of Assumption Church remodeled its confessionals, putting in windows to bring in natural light and widening the doors to make it more accessible for the disabled.

After the remodel, the number of confessions increased so much that the time for Fitzgerald to hear confessions jumped from 30 minutes to three hours.

"I am never, ever sitting in the confessional waiting for someone to come in," he said.

[D-fendr]

How many regular folks do you think have commandments about drinking that they devote practice to make perfect and compare their 'art' of drinking to learning a martial art?

[GSlob]

Many more than you could imagine. There are, for example, mediterranean cultures, where alcohol is seen as a form of nourishment, but being inebriated is disparaged and frowned upon. These cultures number their members in tens of millions. The same works on these shores - to get drunk is vulgar, and so as not to stoop down to vulgarity - observe the commandments, and "in hoc signo vinces".

[D-fendr]

So, you live in a mediterranean culture?

[GSlob]

To an extent, yes. I would even say that I might be "multicultural" - in the old, non-PC usage of the word: I am reasonably well familiar with several cultures and absorb from each of them what I might find appealing.

[D-fendr]

I see.

You adopt what you find appealing and alcohol as a form of nourishment appeals to you.

Is the Armenian brandy you mentioned a particularly good source of nutrition?

[GSlob]

Well, de gustibus non disputandum est - I find it good, and I would even think that you might agree with me on that. Try it some day.

[D-fendr]

Thanks for the offer. But I've had enough brandy for both of us. Never called it a form of nourishment; could have used that one in an earlier life. I think I used all the other ones though.

I used to be a black belt drinker too.

Good luck with your practice and your nourishment.

[steadfastconservative]

I agree, this type of penance service is definitely illicit and no parish should ever hold one. But I think you wrong when you say that most secular priests are disobedient. The disobedient priests, of course, get all of the press. They are the ones we hear about, as this article shows with its fawning coverage of the general absolution service. But I don't believe that disobedient priests outnumber good priests. I think there is a tendency among faithful Catholics to focus on the negative, to lament all of the problems in the Church and not to see the real good that is going on. I think that the tide has finally turned and that the Church is moving away from the heterodoxy that has plagued it over the last forty years. In fact, the more I see of my own parish, which is a just a regular, "Novus Ordo," parish, the more hopeful I am.

[Mad Dawg]

I think if you reread my post you'll see that we're saying a lot of the same things.

[Salvation]

We have 500-600 families.

What is your idea of a "small" church?

[Salvation]

**All this time I thought the High Priest, Christ Jesus did that**

He does!! Are you aware of the words of absolution that the priest says? God does forgive the penitent. The priest only makes it possible through the words of absolution and placing his hands over your head.

 

1449 The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[MarkBsnr]

Many non-Catholics firmly believe that the priest is only a physical man doing physical things in a physical world. They do not believe that he is the instrument which God uses to bring Himself to us.

The bread is only bread; the wine is only wine; confession is a man-made routine; Mass is a bunch of people getting together on occasion. Yet, on the other hand, many of them believe that the Holy Spirit moves through them in the creation of either simple or elaborate theologies, as it suits them at the moment. Opposing beliefs, both held as strongly as the other.

The Catholic Church cannot be the Church of Christ, yet these individuals can. Wow.

[livius]

The Catholic Church cannot be the Church of Christ, yet these individuals can.

Very good points all.

[needlenose_neely]

This is not a thread to debate the relative merits of the Sacrament and its proper place, efficacy, etc.

I want to make sure you understand the context of my post, which was not any "relative merits of the sacrament...". If you take care to read what is actually said the context is very clear.

Once again, you said;

I know its an open thread, but disagreements and mockery are not really necessary either.

You insinuated that disagreement is a bad thing, so my question, IN CONTEXT, pertains directly to WHY you think disagreement is a bad thing.

In 50 words or less explain why disagreement is a bad thing as you have insinuated.

So, it would help if you read what I actually said instead of seeing something that I did not say.

[needlenose_neely]

**All this time I thought the High Priest, Christ Jesus did that**

He does!! Are you aware of the words of absolution that the priest says? God does forgive the penitent. The priest only makes it possible through the words of absolution and placing his hands over your head.

It was Christ's atonement that makes forgiveness possible, not any words or action of any human priest.

[NYer]

We have 500-600 families. What is your idea of a "small" church?

Our parish community consists of 50 registered families.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Disagreement isn't necessarily a bad thing. But please go back to the beginning, read GSlob's comments and look what it did to the thread. It had NO place on this thread. If you disagree, then we disagree, and that is certainly allowed.

[ichabod1]

I don't understand some of the complaints. We have a General Confession at most every service, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. It's certainly nothing new. The only way it would be illicit, IMO, would be if the Priest granted absolution. I was piscopo, but am now Catholic. I like the way our Priests do it better because they say "May the Lord have mercy on *us*". In the piskie church the 'priest' says "May the Lord have mercy on *YOU*" which sounds much more like he's granting absolution, though really in neither case is he doing so.

I also like the Catholic way of absolution when the Priest says "I hereby absolve you of your sins. Now go and pray for me, a sinner." I really like that humility. In fact, I admire the humility of Catholic Priests a great deal.

[ichabod1]

I don't know how many families my Anglican Use parish has. But on Laetare Sunday the Liturgical team (Father, Deacon, and Verger), as well as the High Altar were resplendent in beautiful new Rose vestments -- really gorgeous stuff. Turned out that some of the ladies in the congregation had made them themselves. But they were stunning -- absolutely first rate.

[NYer]

Turned out that some of the ladies in the congregation had made them themselves.

That's the way to do it :-) As K often notes, the women in his parish also make the priest's vestments. We lack this talent among our parishioners :-(