How to go to confession in a different country

[Bendzi]

Hello I am a college student and am currently on a summer internship in Germany. I know where the church is, and when confession is, but I do not know how to go about it if there is a language barrier.

Any suggestions or germans that can tell me how to address a priest and so on?

 

[FidesSpesCarita]

Hello I am a college student and am currently on a summer internship in Germany. I know where the church is, and when confession is, but I do not know how to go about it if there is a language barrier.

Any suggestions or germans that can tell me how to address a priest and so on?

I suggest that you find an english speaking parish HERE and go there. And I presume that priests in Germany are still addressed as father

FSC

 

[Theophorus]

Germans generally have a very good level of english so the first thing I would do is try to speak to a member of the parish clergy to see how good their english is

 

[VetA]

Hello I am a college student and am currently on a summer internship in Germany. I know where the church is, and when confession is, but I do not know how to go about it if there is a language barrier.

Any suggestions or germans that can tell me how to address a priest and so on?

idk i wonder if it would be permissible to write a list of your sins on paper, translate it yourself from a book, and hand it to the priest?

 

[choy]

the priest doesn’t really need to understand your sins

 

[Tanya_Cupido]

It should be fairly easy to find someone who speaks English to hear your confession if that’s what you would like. I have managed to find English-speaking priests in most places I’ve visited.

I think it helps to understand what is being said in both directions if you like to ‘feel’ the process.

Not sure about writing it down on paper, simply because if you misplace the paper, others could read your confession, which I believe is best to be avoided. I am new to Catholicism though, so I may be wrong.

Good luck in your search!

T.x

 

[Bendzi]

Ok, i just gathered up some courage and went for it =]
The priest didn’t speak any of the languages I did so I tried in my best german to go through it. If you think confession is hard, try doing it in a different language =D
but yea, if anybody else has this problem, this is what i would do differently

look up the words to the sins you want to say, alteast to know how to sound them out (its hard to play charades with a priest when he cant see you)
come to the confessional and say that you dont understand everything thats being said.

Thanks for the support everyone

 

[TheDoctor]

Glad to hear that you were able to go. You are an inspiration in your seeking out a confessor even with the langauge barrier instead of using that as an excuse not to go. Bravo!

One other piece of advice I will pass along (although in all fairness I am not sure I would have the courage to do so myself) is that you can use a translator to communicate between you and the priest (and yes, the translator is bound by the Seal of the Confessional the same as the priest).