Confession, face to face or not?

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poche said:
You can go to confession face to face or behind a screen.
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Exactly so. My concern is for those who wish to go behind the screen and are not given that opportunity. Many also prefer not to be visible to the public by means of windows. I still remember a conversation with a friend who said that as a teenager he never told his real sins in confession because he knew the priest too well and was forced to go face to face.

The three-room confessional was ideal, private, and safe. It still is, in my parish.
 
JimG said:
Exactly so. My concern is for those who wish to go behind the screen and are not given that opportunity. Many also prefer not to be visible to the public by means of windows. I still remember a conversation with a friend who said that as a teenager he never told his real sins in confession because he knew the priest too well and was forced to go face to face.

The three-room confessional was ideal, private, and safe. It still is, in my parish.
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Everybody’s got preferences. Maybe it isn’t possible to meet the ideal conditions for each person.

Those who prefer to not be visible to others by means of windows might have problems confessing in many places in Europe, including St. Peter’s, where they are visible because they are out in the open. (See picture of Pope Francis above.) Unlike your friend, I strongly prefer face-to-face with a confessor who knows me well. The three-room confessional is not ideal for those who prefer face-to-face confessions, and there are other solutions, which might represent a compromise for some, that can still allow for face-to- or behind a screen.

I guess we can’t please everyone. We should probably learn to just be grateful for the blessing of priests to hear our confessions and give absolution.
 
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Have consideration for the priest. They are fallible human beings and some simply prefer the screen. I think that face-to-face crept in when spiritual direction inveigled its way into confession. The two are quite different, although not completely separated. But, confession should be by type and number, short and sweet, particularly considering those who are waiting in line to unburden themselves and return to grace.
 
po18guy said:
Have consideration for the priest. They are fallible human beings and some simply prefer the screen.
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Of course. In the Latin Rite, is a priest’s right to choose to only hear confessions behind a screen in ordinary circumstances, though I haven’t come across too many who have expressed this preference to me. I don’t see how having a preference that might not match the priest’s preference is inconsiderate. Demanding that a priest hear my confession face-to-face after having been told that he doesn’t hear confessions that way would be inconsiderate.
po18guy said:
I think that face-to-face crept in when spiritual direction inveigled its way into confession. The two are quite different, although not completely separated. But, confession should be by type and number, short and sweet, particularly considering those who are waiting in line to unburden themselves and return to grace.
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Inveighed is a pretty strong word. Spiritual direction has always been a part of confession to some extent. Although they are different things, it is quite appropriate to have some amount of spiritual direction during confession.

Almost all of my lengthy confessions have been made so by the priest, who took the time to give me appropriate (and much appreciated) spiritual counsel.
 
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Hello.

I prefer the screen, but will do face to face.

I need mercy, forgiveness, and God’s graces either way.

My two cents…
 
I’ve never done it behind the screen either. I’ve had confessions in restaurants in the corner booth and outside of restaurants. 🙂 But as they say, either way is valid. And as far as my last confession, well I can never remember that.
 
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I just had confession in the university church yesterday afternoon. It was done in the confessional.

To me, the situation depends. If I go to confession in my parish (which only has one priest - who is the parish priest too) I’d settle for a face to face confession. What’s the sense of preserving the priest’s anonymity within the parish if he is the ONLY priest there?

Now, if I go to confession in the university church (I study in a catholic university run by the Dominican priests), I would settle for confession separated by a grille since there are many priests belonging to that Dominican priory who hears confession everyday. And it is the only choice in the university church for confessions everyday (Imo, you can’t simply go into the college regent’s office or even the university rector’s office to ask for confession. They have work to do.)
 
Here’s another 🙂

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
Why? Because you censored an argument you didn’t agree with instead of disproving it with facts and logic?

Here is a direct quote from this credible and fact-checked article:

www.ibtimes.co.uk

Catholic Church faces massive clerical child sex abuse scandal in Pope's Argentina

Top Catholic Church officials worked behind the scenes to control the sex abuse scandal and keep it from authorities as well as parishioners.
www.ibtimes.co.uk www.ibtimes.co.uk

"Karen Maydana says she was 9 years old when the Rev. Carlos Jose fondled her at a church pew facing the altar. It was her first confession ahead of her first Holy Communion.

She blames the trauma of that moment in 2004 for a teenage suicide attempt. And yet she never spoke about it publicly until this year. After hearing that two women who attended her school in the Argentine town of Caseros were allegedly abused by the same priest, she joined them as complainants in a case that in July led to his arrest for investigation of aggravated sexual abuse."

I have now provided you with at least three cases of children being sexually abused during the Sacrament of Confession by three different priests in order to substantiate my argument that confessionals should have barriers between children and priests. However, my comments regarding the Grand Jury report in the Altoona-Johnston diocese were censored and removed. In that diocese alone at least two different priests molested children during the Sacrament of Confession.

Please be mature and refrain from censoring arguments you disagree with. Please instead try to disprove allegedly fallacious reasoning with facts and logic.

If you disagree with my position that children should not attend confessionals that do not have barriers in order to safeguard against the very real danger of molestation, please explain why.
 
Knowing that I will later have to stare a priest in they eyes has helped keep me out of trouble in the past. I am sure he would recognize my voice anyway. I am glad though people have a choice. There are people that might not go if it were not for the screen, so I am glad that it is there for them.
 
I think that would be ok.

I think that changes such as that are urgently needed in order to protect children in the Catholic Church, which Jesus has promised “the gates of Hell will not prevail against” (Matthew 16:18).
 
this a great topic

i prefer “behind the screen”

but i’ve done “face to face” so many times it has become really not that big of a deal

the most important thing is that you go to confession & cleanse your soul
 
spiritualsoldier said:
I think that changes such as that are urgently needed in order to protect children in the Catholic Church, which Jesus has promised “the gates of Hell will not prevail against” (Matthew 16:18).
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As noted earlier, such windows and the like are already available. I’m not sure what other changes could be made without trampling on the right to have Confession behind a screen. Parental awareness is a must, of course. However, I don’t think the problem is as widespread as many would have the public believe. If it were, there would be a far more serious crackdown on things that regularly happen in places like public schools.
 
“It’s sad that we even have to consider this problem”

Yes, but we do have to consider this problem. We can’t turn a blind eye to it or enable the abusers as so many Church leaders have notoriously done.
 
Ask Father. Some priests truly appreciate the screen. If Father does not care, then looking into his eyes and seeing Christ Who forgives your sins might be helpful.
 
For me…like u said…face to face is much more difficult and makes me truly think of the gravity of the sin i committed or think about committing when i know i will look someone in the eye over it.
 
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