An idea: "E-confessions"

[po18guy]

Not that I want to prolong this, but I just want to share that I work for an IT department for a company that values high level security. I can tell you that emails and other electronic communications can be made 1000x more secure than a confessional.

But any system designed by man can be defeated by man. Any other form of communication allows the entry of a third part, which, by itself, violates the form of the Sacrament. Just can’t see it happening, what with the Vatican stress on restoring and tightening things up.

Anyway, read Nehemiah 9. Public confession was the norm. Still have a problem with the confessional? Neither do I.

 

[FirstCalled]

Maybe you noticed the other thread I made about cheating being a mortal sin. Well, someone responded to it and said I didn’t sin, due the the details:

I was trying to draw and label the reproductive cycle of a flower. I had all the stages drawn out, but I couldn’t remember the name of one of the labels. My professor was across the room, talking to another student, and I heard him say the word I was looking for. So, according to who posted on that other thread, I did not cheat.

Even so. Cheating on a test is not a mortal sin.

 

[Bob_Aliano]

I am facebook friends with a local priest. I was thinking: Could I chat with him or send him a private message as a confession? Would that be valid?

Ha! Google and the other Data Miners, including the government are going to love this. Not only will they know who we are, what we buy, how we think, how we vote, who our “friends” are but now they’ll even know our most intimate transgressions. Can you imagine the ad-ware market for that? Even Orwell never imagined we’d volunteer all that over an open mic!

 

[JackVk]

Ha! Google and the other Data Miners, including the government are going to love this. Not only will they know who we are, what we buy, how we think, how we vote, who our “friends” are but now they’ll even know our most intimate transgressions. Can you imagine the ad-ware market for that? Even Orwell never imagined we’d volunteer all that over an open mic!

Yikes! Didn’t think about that!

 

[thistle]

I am facebook friends with a local priest. I was thinking: Could I chat with him or send him a private message as a confession? Would that be valid?

Confession must be done in person with the priest to be valid.

E-mails, texting, letters, phone calls etc are NOT valid.

 

[StevieD]

Maybe you noticed the other thread I made about cheating being a mortal sin. Well, someone responded to it and said I didn’t sin, due the the details:

I was trying to draw and label the reproductive cycle of a flower. I had all the stages drawn out, but I couldn’t remember the name of one of the labels. My professor was across the room, talking to another student, and I heard him say the word I was looking for. So, according to who posted on that other thread, I did not cheat.

A sin - not at all. I would have just thanked my guardian angel for sending me the answer. YOU DID NOT CHEAT. Anyway the fact that you recognised the word as the one you wanted, meant that you knew the answer, you just forgot the word. Be at total peace about that one.

 

[reaganjn]

im in college and i cheated on a homework one time due to stress and upcoming finals. i thought it was a mortal sin, and i went to my priest to confess and he said that it is not mortal…it is venial. i did have other sins to confess that were mortal. so i had to go anyhoo.

 

[SnakeMauler]

It’s not a mortal sin to cheat on one test question. For example, let’s say your a Spanish major and you’re a senior and you have to take a math class for general ed requirements and you really don’t get math and you cheat on one question so you can pass, so what?

However, let’s say you’re becoming a doctor and you cheat on some kind of doctor exam and you don’t understand some medical stuff and you seriously put in danger the lives of people who can die when you become a doctor, then yeah, that’s a mortal sin.

Worry about: Killing, Extreme anger, masturbation, lust, etc.

 

[JHow]

Ha! Google and the other Data Miners, including the government are going to love this. Not only will they know who we are, what we buy, how we think, how we vote, who our “friends” are but now they’ll even know our most intimate transgressions. Can you imagine the ad-ware market for that? Even Orwell never imagined we’d volunteer all that over an open mic!

That’s where my mind went with this. You run for public office and Wikileaks brings up your confession from 10 years ago (“I knowingly employed an illegal-alien housekeeper.”), thus ending your political career.

 

[newyorkcatholic]

We are focusing on in person confession for security / confidentiality but that’s not the main reason it must be in person.

All the sacraments must be in person because they are PHYSICAL signs of a spiritual reality, and we are embodied creatures. The Church uses real water, oil, hands, a man and a woman, spoken sins, bread and wine, etc for the sacraments.

No sacrament can be remote. Even in the extremest cases (general absolution, bringing Communion to the dying, baptising in case of death with tap water, etc) the sacraments are physical, proximate.

 

[Bob_Aliano]

We are focusing on in person confession for security / confidentiality but that’s not the main reason it must be in person.

All the sacraments must be in person because they are PHYSICAL signs of a spiritual reality, and we are embodied creatures. The Church uses real water, oil, hands, a man and a woman, spoken sins, bread and wine, etc for the sacraments.

No sacrament can be remote. Even in the extremest cases (general absolution, bringing Communion to the dying, baptising in case of death with tap water, etc) the sacraments are physical, proximate.

I realize all that but was specifically addressing the OP reference to e-confession as compared to say drive-up confession.