"I used to go to Confession once a month, but now with having to go face-to-face, I am embarrassed.... Will we ever return to the old rite?" What a Ca

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The priest, Father Shea, answered: “Your question has me puzzled because you seem to indicate that in your parish church the penitent has no option to receive the Sacrament of Penance anonymously. If that is so, this is in complete violation of Canon Law: it is the right of every Catholic – not the priest – to decide on Confession anonymously. If your parish does not have provision for this possibility, your pastor should be approached and apprised of the problem and your legitimate desire to have this situation changed.”
(This response to this question was provided by Father Michael Shea at https://cammonline.org/prayer-ministry/ask-fr-shea/ )
 
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I can’t even think of a church that doesn’t have anonymous confession and thankfully, I went anonymous last time I went and it really helped me not “chicken out” with embarrassment.

But I do think there is a value of the face-to-face in that it forces you to be embarrassed which is like anti-pride
 
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I have the choice to do either face to face or anonymous … I always choose face to face … I get more feedback from the priest in this manner and there is no embarrassment … he is sitting in for Christ.
 
I have done face to face for some time now. Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent, I made a general confession face to face. I wouldn’t want to go back behind the veil. I get more good advice and counsel face to face.
 
No, I mean It! It is a small parish. Quite elderly too so I expect they never sin, obviously 😉
 
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So I suppose we could call the practice of having confessions face-to-face without any anonymity in the Latin Church an unwelcome Easternization?
 
In the early Church, East and West, the Sacrament of Penance was public. Private confession came later. Anonymous confession is attributed to Saint Charles Borromeo, thats like in the 16th century.

Anonymity in the Confessional from EWTN

ZP
 
Oh, I think elderly people sin. Sometimes it’s not quite as open as when younger people sin, but they probably do sin, nonetheless.
 
Not really. In the Eastern practice, confessions are made in the nave with the penitent facing an icon of Christ and the priest standing to the side listening. It’s not anonymous, but it is quite different from the “face to face sitting in a room on two chairs” scenario commonly practiced in the contemporary Latin Church.
 
semper_catholicus said:
So I suppose we could call the practice of having confessions face-to-face without any anonymity in the Latin Church an unwelcome Easternization?
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Not at all. The innovation of using a screen of some sort for confession came about in the 16th century and was not a universal practice until the 17th century. Prior to St. Charles Borromeo’s introduction of the screen, Latin Catholics also confessed without a barrier. Anonimity is an entirely different matter. It was not the goal of the screen and came as a (welcome?) side effect. Even in the years between Saint Charles Borromeo and the Second Vatican Council, confession without a screen occurred in a number of circumstances.

The return of Confession without a screen as an option in the Latin Rite was not unwelcome by all.

Having said that, the option of having a fixed great should always be made available in the Latin Rite. It is unacceptable, under ordinary circumstances, to deprive a person of that right under canon law.
 
I don’t know about other eastern churches, but at my Ukrainian Catholic parish, we do “face to face” confessions with Jesus (we confess while looking at an icon of Jesus). The priest stands next to us at the iconostasis.
 
Anonymous confession?

Is there really such a thing?

While we are confessing to a priest, is he not acting in the Person of Christ?

When facing Jesus at the Particular Judgment, should we expect to hide behind a screen, or look our Savior in the eye?

Just wondering.
 
Regardless of when anonymous Confession was instituted, or that some people like and prefer to confess face to face … Canon Law indicates that it is the right of the penitent to have the option for anonymous Confession. One way is not superior to another. Although, for me personally, due to my temperament and how I approach Confession, it helps me to remember my sins and to picture the Confessor as Jesus.

We didn’t have the option of anonymous Confession for the last few years at our parish. T The penitent had to sit beside the priest in the Sacristy. We now have a new priest who has reinstituted the use of the Confessional and I am very grateful for this.
 
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