Face-to-face or behind-the-screen Confession?

  • Thread starter Thread starter CatholicZ09
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

CatholicZ09

Guest
Which of the two do you prefer? I like face-to-face, honestly. I think that I’d feel really awkward behind the screen (it’s already awkward face-to-face, but I feel better talking directly to the priest rather than to a screen). Behind the screen I feel like I’m “hiding myself from Jesus” so to speak. I like facing the priest whenever he gives me my absolution.
 
I prefer kneeling at the ‘screen’ but that’s only because I’m stuck in my old ways. The ‘screen’ at my church is just a see-through veil and the priest and I can see each other clearly anyway… plus we often say hello before we even walk into the confessional so it’s not as if it is an anonymous situation. It is still quite a close encounter because you are only about 20cm away from the priest when kneeling.

I must be as blind as a bat because it was only last week that I noticed that we had a choice, depending on which door we entered. Father Stephen said I could go in either. I think Father prefers sitting face-to-face because there was a pew partially blocking the traditional ‘screen’ side door of the confessional and of course I thought this was an accident so moved the pew out of the way (lol).

I had a face to face in another church because they didn’t seem to have confessionals and you just walked into a small room and sat in a chair next to the priest. That was good too except it feels strange to me not to be kneeling.

So I don’t mind face-to-face but given the choice I’d prefer to kneel at the ‘screen’.
 
The problem is not with or without screen.

The problem is confession sitting or kneeling. The confession sitting is a social engineering toward the We the people are the church concept, and pulls down the priest to the level of the laity. The priest in the confession acts in the name of Jesus Christ, and by no way is on our level.
 
Have to explain my “face to face”…I dont have a choice

The confessional is set up in such a way that yes there is a screen, but my wheelchair barely fits in the area so I have to do face to face
 
laszlo said:
The problem is not with or without screen.

The problem is confession sitting or kneeling. The confession sitting is a social engineering toward the We the people are the church concept, and pulls down the priest to the level of the laity. The priest in the confession acts in the name of Jesus Christ, and by no way is on our level.
Click to expand...
Good point!
i`d go for behind the screen, anyway.
 
I prefer f2f. I’ve been doing that since the late 1960s …

As our wonderful priest was leaving church from confession on a Saturday way back when & I was running up to church, …

I told him our softball game had run over and I had planned on going to confession, but I’ll wait until next Saturday. He informed me we could walk around our church grounds and he would gladly hear my confession. I received absolution on a bench on our playing field. It was awesome.

I was very blessed to have him as my priest. I learned so much about my faith, life and love from him.

RIP, Fr B.
 
If a strange priest is in the reconciliation room, I’ll usually opt for the screen. Otherwise, since the Pastors have been my bosses for 13 years, I’ve felt that opting for the screen was pretending we didn’t know each other. Usually, though, if I want to confess to the stranger he’s usually the one relegated to a chair in the chapel with no screen.
 
prefer the screen but I cannot kneel any more so I sit in the chair. that is I can kneel indefinitely but I can’t get up and can’t walk when I am assisted to rise. It is long time since the personality of the priest himself has intruded in my confessions so that is not an issue.
 
If I don’t know the priest I am going to go to Confess, I perfer behind the screen.

However if it is my Confessor then face to face.

I did not see an option that reflected this, so I did not vote.
 
smichhertz said:
My preference is face-to-face as I find I get more embarrassed by my sins and it gives me added motivation not to commit sin again.

However, I found excellent arguments for behind-the-screen when I started a thread like this:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=560692
Click to expand...
I agree with this. But I confess to the same 2 priests…I don’t like running from priest to priest because then I can’t be held accountable. If I’m doing the same stupid stuff over and over and I see the same priest, I can get called out on it and address it. Because I know the priests, I like face-to-face. It also helps me remember when I’m about to sin that I will have to look the priest in the face and tell him (and I WILL tell him).

However recently I had to make confession with a priest who isn’t my regular confessor. So I came in and went behind the screen and confessed something and was relieved the option was there.

I like that BOTH options are available. There are times when I’ve been doing the same sin over and over and over that I need to talk it out face-to-face and other times when I have something that seems “unforgiveable” where I need to have that privacy to feel better. I am afraid without the screen option I might not confess those sins I feel most terrible about.

Lorrie
 
CatholicZ09 said:
Which of the two do you prefer? I like face-to-face, honestly. I think that I’d feel really awkward behind the screen (it’s already awkward face-to-face, but I feel better talking directly to the priest rather than to a screen). Behind the screen I feel like I’m “hiding myself from Jesus” so to speak. I like facing the priest whenever he gives me my absolution.
Click to expand...
Somewhere in between: speaking ear-to-ear. Face-to-face, brightly lit confessions are too uncomfortable for me; I feel scrutinised. Whereas speaking to the priest makes him seem distant, not a fellow sinner.
 
It feels odd though my Eastern parish has a confession box and my last RC parish doesn’t 😃
 
laszlo said:
…The confession sitting is a social engineering toward the We the people are the church concept, and pulls down the priest to the level of the laity. The priest in the confession acts in the name of Jesus Christ, and by no way is on our level.
Click to expand...
Can you please provide evidence of that, I do not believe that for a second.
 
I’ve never done face to face, I could if I set up an appointment for that, but I just go during the scheduled times that a priest will be in the confessional boxes.
 
Our parish only has Confession behind the screen. That’s my preference anyway.
 
If I am super-embarrased by a sin I go behind the screen. I could do the screen normally but I just feel awkward behind it. I am a therapist so I am so used to taking facing people.

Really, either way is fine.
 
I’ve only had one confessor…and I prefer face to face. Even though sometimes I’m super embarrassed:blush: But it really makes me think sometimes…and keeps me from some sins…knowing that I will have to go face him.
 
I chose the screen even though I’ve done both ways when going to Confession past and future.
 
I used to go face-to-face, and really liked it for a while, but then it seemed that (no matter where I lived/went to confession) the priests started to get too cutesy and chatty . It didn’t seem as serious. Now I prefer behind the screen, as I can more easily imagine that it is Christ who is listening to/speaking to/forgiving me. I focus MUCH better this way, and feel I can get to the heart of the matter more easily.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top