Posted on 06/24/2007 12:58:20 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
Albany -- Saturday afternoon Mass at St. Catherine of Siena draws 400 people. The confession period beforehand draws two.
The second makes it just before closing time. It's been about three months since Mariam O'Brien's last confession, and a few days since she skipped Mass.
The 84-year-old shuts the door and enters a soothing room with a red carpet, a box of tissues and a priest, the Rev. Kenneth Doyle, who confesses that hearing confessions is one of his favorite duties. She steps out minutes later.
"I feel like the Lord is listening to me through the priest," O'Brien says outside the confessional, talking candidly with a reporter about things her priest is forbidden from saying to anyone. "I get consolation from it, and blessings."
This scene in Albany speaks volumes about the state of confession in America. The sacrament, once a pillar of Catholic practice, is crumbling. And the way people confess, both what they say and where they say it, is shifting from the old laundry lists of minor misdeeds recited in austere anonymous boxes.
Only 26 percent of Catholics go to confession at least once a year, according to a 2005 poll by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. A University of Notre Dame study in the early 1980s put the number at 74 percent.
It's an alarming trend for Catholic leaders, who see confession as essential to spiritual health. What's at stake is a route, laid out in the Bible, to examine your conscience, overcome sin and achieve grace.
Signs of concern keep popping up. Pope Benedict XVI talked up the sacrament in at least three recent public appearances, even casting it in modern psychological terms as a remedy for "guilt complexes."
And earlier this year, the Washington Archdiocese tried to lure folks back to confession with a marketing campaign -- catch phrase: "The Light Is On For You" -- that slapped ads on buses and subway cars, and passed out how-to guides and wallet-size contrition cards.
Confession has become so foreign to so many Catholics that priests like Doyle keep sample acts of contrition on hand so sinners can read aloud words they once would have known by heart.
"In the old days the priest wouldn't help you," said the Rev. Gerald Mudd, 67, of St. Francis Chapel in Colonie. "You'd get hell if you didn't know it."
Doyle, also 67, remembers how it used to be when he and his buddies biked to Sacred Heart Church on Saturdays as kids in Troy.
The dark box. The screened-off priest. The second-grader's fear of that first confession.
Now confessionals are sometimes called reconciliation rooms. And sitting for an interview in the one at St. Catherine of Siena recently, Doyle estimated that 80 to 90 percent of penitents choose to come clean in a chair facing him rather than behind an optional partition. ("I have trouble kneeling anyway," one 78-year-old said.)
The Vatican approved this style in the 1970s. The idea was that worshippers, abandoning confession in droves, would find such sessions more meaningful.
"That option certainly didn't bring the large numbers back," said James O'Toole, a history professor at Boston College who studies confession.
An emerging confession style that is attracting interest -- and the scorn of Catholic leaders -- replaces the whisper of priests with the click-clack of computer keys. Protestant churches and secular groups have created Web sites that let users anonymously cyber-dish their confessions to the world.
And what confessions!
Nothing like the G-rated fare that Doyle, who doubles as chancellor for public information of the Albany Diocese, typically hears in his confessional. Those Catholics who still confess regularly "tend to be the ones who are most faithful to their obligations," he said.
So parishioners fess up to not praying enough or not being thankful enough for their blessings. Husbands regret failing to be understanding enough of wives. Parents lament not being patient enough with their kids.
"It's not very often that I meet some people that come in and say, 'I killed the guy next door,' " Doyle said.
You probably won't find any murderers coming clean on confession Web sites like the evangelical service www.mysecret.tv.
But you will find a husband who leads a double life of secret gay hookups. A man disgusted by his addiction to masturbation. A recovering drug addict who molested his little brother.
These Web sites are a new phenomenon. So why, to borrow O'Toole's phrase, has Catholic confession "fallen through the floor"?
"There's a cluster of things," O'Toole said. "People didn't like to do it. And once they stopped thinking that they'd go to hell if they didn't, they could kind of get out of the habit."
Ask Doyle the same question, and he points to one primary explanation: a diminishing sense of sin.
He feels our society chalks up misbehavior to psychological factors. Or socioeconomic influences. Or family upbringing.
"Anything," said Doyle, "but personal responsibility."
O'Toole also pointed to a new emphasis since the 1960s on the social dimensions of sin, the notion that sin isn't so much "I punched my sister" as it is things like racism, sexism and damaging the environment. Stuff that's generally harder to talk about in the confessional.
The professor added that rates of Communion skyrocketed after Vatican II in the 1960s, while rates of confession plummeted. Catholics, he said, got the idea that the Eucharist itself provided forgiveness. For minor sins, Doyle said, that's true.
All of that is much more complicated than the simple reason one parishioner offered for why she prays every night but hasn't confessed in at least 15 years.
"I feel like I don't need somebody between me and God," said Ginny Hartkern, 59, of St. Brigid's Church in Watervliet. "I think you can speak directly to God. You don't need an intermediary."
For those who do, the old ways live on at St. Mary's Church, incorporated in 1796 and the state's second-oldest Catholic parish. It doesn't get more traditional than these confessionals: the lacquered wood, the mustard-yellow curtains, the complete anonymity behind them.
And for parishioners like Ruth, who gave her age as "over 80," this is how confession should be. You remove the anonymity, she said, and "too much personality" gets involved. And doesn't looking at a priest change what you're willing to tell him? "They teach the kids now to go face to face," said Ruth, of Colonie, who did not want her last name published. "I prefer the way I have always gone, behind the screen."
For a newer twist, visit the commercial hub of Colonie's Wolf Road, where if you didn't read the sign you might mistake St. Francis Chapel for the nearby tanning salon.
Here in this strip mall, the Franciscan friars have figured out a two-step formula for keeping confession viable:
1. Make it available where the people are.
2. Be there for them all day.
Instead of just Saturday afternoons or by appointment, the friars are there for you weekdays, too.
They split the day into shifts that end at 7:30 p.m. This lets them hear an astounding volume of confessions by today's standards -- up to 50 a day.
They don't even have to wait in the box for penitents. Every time one enters the confessional, it triggers a sensor that rings a bell in the church office. This happened repeatedly during an interview with Mudd one recent afternoon. Each time, the brown-robed friar excused himself and slipped into the confessional through a back door.
A few minutes from St. Francis, but worlds away theologically, is Lifechurch.tv.
You won't find a confessional there. Most Sundays, you won't even hear a live sermon.
The tennis-bubble-like dome off Sand Creek Road is the "Albany campus" of an Oklahoma-based network of evangelical churches. Lifechurch beams the sermons of its senior pastor to screens at its far-flung member campuses.
Lifechurch launched the confession Web site www.mysecret.tv. Its users include Albany worship pastor Joe Dingwall, who was online in the church's dartboard-equipped office one day when others' confessions motivated him to post his own.
That we're-all-going-through-the-same-thing camaraderie is why Dingwall, 26, prefers sharing his sins online to airing them in a Catholic confessional, something he has tried despite not being Catholic.
Catholic authorities have condemned online confessionals. The Vatican advised bishops and priests not to use them three years ago, the reason being that "ill-intentioned people such as hackers" might read the confessions and use them for nefarious purposes like blackmail.
So is there any bright spot in the Catholic confession landscape?
Yes. Several Catholic priests agreed that the few people who still use the sacrament are using it really well.
Today's penitents are far more likely to talk about "sins of omission," as Doyle put it. People might lament their failures to put in enough effort at work, say, or to be generous with their money or time.
The Rev. Paul Smith, sacramental minister at churches in Altamont and Berne, said parishioners now delve into things like bigotry -- into the attitudes that underlie their misbehavior.
"They're willing to go deeper," he said.
I would love to get my family to go once a month. As it stands now we go about 4 times a year. I know I need it more often and now that my husband is Catholic and can help us get there I think we’ll start making first Saturdays a family ritual.
Uh, you pinged me first...Apparently it was alright then, when you were going to show ME something...
I disagree with you...Jesus did not use priests...But he did commission the apostles, temporarily, to carry out the mission of remitting and retaining sins...
When Jesus was seated on the Heavenly Throne however, and the Holy Spirit showed up as the comforter and indwelt all believers, things changed...
Are you sure that he gave the wrong advice in regards to her being under spiritual attack? I’ve known bipolar people and they go off and on their meds and lead very chaotic lives. Meds don’t seem to me to be the solution. Most bipolar people are very edgy, very brittle, hard to deal with. They need God very much, need faith to give them the ability to discipline themselves without chemicals . . .
Temporarily?
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.
Matthew 9:8
This verse demonstrates that Christ gave authority to men, including that of forgiving sins. You agree that he commissioned the apostles to carry out that mission. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?
Unfortunately, I was not around to be pinged to his argument and would welcome hearing it anew.
As the news article (linked above) indicates, it is far more difficult to 'tally' sexual abuse in the Protestant Church because of the proliferation of denominations (33,000+). The Catholic Church provides an easier model for insurance companies due to its centralized authority.
The frequency with which a lie is told does not make that lie more truthful.
To which lie are you referring? The Catholic Church has implemented measures to prevent child sexual abuse. What have the 33,000 Protestant denominations done? To whom are they accountable? As one involved in Catholic education, I had to pass a background check and attend training on sexual abuse. Does your Church do the same?
I'd be interested in your thoughts after seeing the recent documentary, "Deliver Us From Evil."
I have not seen this documentary. Who produced it?
Then act like one! Otherwise you are no more than a Catholic "in name only". This is the Feast of St. John the Baptist who did not fear speaking the truth and paid for it with his life. This is also true today in the Middle East where Catholics are being persecuted. To attend Mass on Sunday is tantamount to taking one's life in their hands but they risk it all to attend the Sacrament of Confession and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Would you be willing to do the same?
I did not, nor do I now wish to get into a debate on the subject. I was simply offering one opinion addressing the subject of the thread. No more, no less.
This is a forum. When you post a comment, you should expect that it will be read and receive a response.
Good day to you, as well.
You wrote:
“Well then...We need to change that scripture to make it fit:”
You don’t have to change the verse nor would it be moral to do so. What you need to do is properly understand the verse.
“Add a letter here and a word there, you can make it say whatever you want...But if you read the verse the ways it’s written, you can not avoid the fact that there is ONLY ONE mediator between men and God...Your church didn’t get invited...”
Again, I said there is only ONE mediator. That one mediator, Christ, shares His office. There is NO contradiction there. Christ is our judge, but the saints will also judge those left on earth at the end. So are there multiple judges? No. There’s one, but He shares that office with His saints.
“So you are not disputing that one...Good...”
I have never once disputed a verse of scripture. How about you? When Christ said, “This is my body” was He lying? I’ll bet you’ll now claim that verse is misunderstood now right?
**I think we’ll start making first Saturdays a family ritual.**
That sounds wonderful. I went from where you are to every two months. Then to every two weeks. It seems the more I receive the forgivesness of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the more acutely aware I am of when and how I sin. I intend to go again this next Wednesday. That will be once a week for the last three weeks. Looks like I am onto something here — at least for me.
As I say to the Catholic members of my family: "De-nial is not a river in Egypt!"
~ PRAYER ~
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+
You have heard the stories of St. John Vianney, haven’t you. He had a clear view of when people did not make a complete and full confession and would tell them so — withold the absolution and tell them to go to the end of the line.
People would wait for days to go to confession to him.
I don't believe you.
I actually met her on FR. I’ll provide more if you want in freepmail.
You wrote:
“As I say to the Catholic members of my family: “De-nial is not a river in Egypt!””
At my parish it isn’t unusual at all for there to be a long line at confession on Saturday afternoon. I have been there when there were more than 25 people in line. Not bad for a parish of only a few hundred.
Then there’s confession AFTER Mass on Saturdays as well, and before Mass for just a few minutes on Sundays.
Our priest is 83 years old. He told us to today that he will push back our Latin Mass on Sundays by 15 minutes so that he can take a rest in between masses. He’s been the pastor there for 35 years. God bless him!
My old parish had Confession 8 times a week beginning 30 minutes before Mass and continuing right through most of the Mass.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic Ping List:
Please ping me to all note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
May Our Lord Bless and keep you.
He treasures the one lost sheep more than the 99, He told us that Himself. I hope that, as the years go on, your love of Our Lord increases and your final end is one of truth and beauty.
Do you do this? If so how often?
Please be honest.
>>Can’t wait for the folks to come along stating that “oh, no! At the orthodox parishes people line up around the block to say confession.” <<
Well, I’ll say it if you like.
We have confessions 1/2 hour before every Holy Mass. 3 times a day and six on Sundays. Also 10 to 12:00 Sat. we are packed.
And we are a very orthodox parish.
At my old parish, we had communal penance. Yup, there was a full house. Only time they went.
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