Confession during coronavirus

[Jen95]

I might be misremembering, but I thought I heard Fr. Larry Richards say (on his radio show) that he would occasionally hear confession by phone.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It’s my understanding that confession by phone or other electronic means is not permitted.

But with Fr. Larry Richards, who knows. He seems to sometimes do some unusual things.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I see that while Archdiocese of Philadelphia has just joined the list of dioceses suspending Masses, the press release from the Archbishop says confessions will still take place as usual but we have to observe social distancing and not have too many people going at once.

Curious to see what that’s going to look like.

 

[lynnvinc]

I heard years ago that confessions over the phone were not allowed. But I did bring it up with my husband the other day, that maybe they could do that, at least during this difficult time. Also I imagine there might be a lot more people making confession if it were over the phone.

 

[Pattylt]

I’m not Catholic so…grain of salt here…

The rules were written long before the internet. Nowadays, Skype or FaceTime would allow Priest and penitent to see each other. My question is, is that the important part…even with a screen, the Priest can tell that a person is in the confession booth. So, I guess what I’m asking is…why must in be in person? Thanks!

 

[stpurl]

Physical proximity. That is missing from Skype and FaceTime. Also, from what I know, whatever is ‘out there on the Internet’ is basically out there forever. Which would violate the seal of the confessional, right? All it takes is somebody listening in or otherwise hacking. . .and the ability to just ‘put out somebody’s videotaped confession’ forever. Not good.

 

[graciew]

I don’t know why exactly, particularly in exceptional cases of great difficulty geographically speaking to have access to a priest.
Maybe privacy as some posters are saying…
There must be a reason but I don’t know it, Patty.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Confessional seal concerns are a big part of why electronic is not allowed.

As the saying goes, “There is no privacy on the Internet. Get over it.”

 

[Pattylt]

It’s funny, I originally thought of that, too. It certainly sounds reasonable. I do know that even Skype connections can be made very secure…it’s how telemedicine operates BUT the data bits still go through an ISP. Even with encryption there is no 100% guarantee so…thanks! to all three of you that brought this to my attention. I hadn’t thought it through far enough!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I wouldn’t rule out that the Church might rethink it in the future, but we have to remember that technology moves very fast, and reasonably private electronic communications are still very new. Even in the 1960s we still had a lot of “Party line” phones where the neighbors could conceivably listen to the conversations or others, and the switchboard operators could still break in.

The Vatican on the other hand tends to move quite slowly, although they have been fairly quick to embrace technology in some arenas, such as allowing people to get the plenary indulgence for listening to or watching the Pope’s Urbi et Orbi blessings when they happen live.

 

[Pattylt]

I’m acquainted with a Jesuit Priest that is currently in the Vatican helping incorporate technology there! He feels very honored to have been selected (because he really is brilliant at high tech) though he is really struggling to learn Italian! .

I remember party lines very well…we had one in Bar Nunn Wyoming until the early 80’s . And yeah, we could listen in to others conversations whether we meant to or not! I was very happy when we were finally given private lines…but, there were a few advantages…very few! We always reminded any callers that we were talking on a party line…some topics just couldn’t be discussed (personal problems type things…well, I guess illegal things as well but we weren’t doing anything illegal!)

I agree that looking into encrypted Skype type confession might be something that should be looked into for emergency situations. I know how seriously and deeply you all feel about this sacrament and the stress of having it unavailable can be. Temporary emergency tech solutions could help tremendously and I bet they are looking into it for the future. Doesn’t mean it will happen but I bet they’re thinking about solutions. Thanks again!

 

[InThePew]

My question is, is that the important part…even with a screen, the Priest can tell that a person is in the confession booth. So, I guess what I’m asking is…why must in be in person?

Yes I can.

Confession must be in person - as with any sacrament - because it is about (a) human interaction and (b) being in the presence of the Lord (mediated through the priest). Although issues around sanctity of the seal are not the primary reason, it’s also worth bearing in mind that in places which within aren’t uber-developed Western countries the quality of communications infrastructure is far from ideal. We are, after all, a universal Church!