Can a confession be written out instead of spoken?

[KindredSoul]

I’ve read that St. Anthony once allowed a penitent to write out a confession, in his presence, instead of confessing verbally simply because the penitent was too ashamed to speak the sins aloud. The point is, it was not due to any physical impediment whatsoever, from what I gather.

Is this a true/acceptable account? Can this still be done today? If so, does it matter whether the confession is written beforehand and then given to the priest, or must it actually be written in the physical presence of the priest?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Yes, a confession and can be written out and handed to the priest instead of spoken aloud. And yes, it can be written out beforehand. (In fact, I very much doubt that many priests would have the time or inclination to allow someone to write out his confession within the confessional.) If this is done, the paper should be given back to the penitent and the penitent should take care to destroy it to preserve the confidentiality of his confession.

The only caveat I would add is that writing out confessions can aggravate the scruples of scrupulous people. If someone is writing down his confession in order to keep a “log” of his sins, he should be encouraged instead to verbally confess all the sins he can remember and to trust that God will forgive him any sins he inadvertently forgot to mention.