My observations about online confessionals as it relates to changes in the Church.
Depending on your age, you may remember the Catholic Church before 1969 as being completely different from the Catholic Church today. If you were born after the 1960’s, then the Catholic Church and Mass you see today may seem normal to you since you may have never experienced the way it used to be.
In 1962 through 1965 the Second Vatican Council was called together by the Catholic Church. The goal behind the council was to “update” or give a “renewal” to the Catholic Church. Attending the council was Pope John XXIII, who passed away while the council was still in session, and was replaced by Pope Paul VI. In addition, to the surprise of many, many Protestant ministers also attended and were involved in the decisions of the council. This was a huge red flag to many Catholics since involving Protestants in Catholicism in any way has always been forbidden by the Church throughout Her history. The final decisions of the Second Vatican Council were drastic changes to the Catholic Church and the Mass, despite the fact that changes to the Mass too had always been forbidden by the Church throughout Her history. Looking at the papal encyclical, “Quo Primum” (Promulgating the Tridentine Liturgy) written by Pope St. Pius V (a canonized Saint) in 1570, we can very clearly see that changes to the liturgy of the Mass were forever forbidden and declared to always remain under the Tridentine Liturgy ratified by the Council of Trent.
At the conclusion of the council, a “new mass” was created and Catholic Churches were instructed to start saying it starting in 1969 instead of the untouched original mass which had been celebrated since the earliest days of the Catholic Church. Throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s and through to today many other changes have slowly crept into the Church as well. If we compare the Catholic Church in general before the Second Vatican Council to the modern day church today, we can see many differences. Obviously these differences vary parish to parish and all may not apply to all parishes, though there are no doubt these changes are widespread.
Truth doesn’t change. If the traditional mass was right before Vatican II, then it is right now. If the new mass was wrong before Vatican II, then it is also wrong now.
”Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.” Thessalonians 2:2.
Change is inevitable in the Church, a blessing, a prayer, a confession, are not bound by time or distance and man should not attempt to make them bound in a church, neither confession in a booth or an altar There were no confessionals in Jesus time. Confessionals appeared in Catholic churches during the 16th Century. Now days, confessions can be face-to-face or the anonymity provided by the confessional screen.
Has any Priest, Brother or anyone else for that matter ever prayed for someone who was not present? Has anyone ever prayed to a Saint? Has a Priest ever blessed water or an object and given it to someone who was not there? Have blessed rosaries been given or sold online or at a store? Has a mass ever been shown on television? Has the Pope ever been on television giving a blessing? Has the Pope ever written a blessing in print? I could go on and on but I would like to make a point. In no case is the sacrament broken. Television is digitally transmitted and so it the internet.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University looked at the rates in 2008. That study found that about 24 percent of Catholics go to confession once or several times a year and that only 2 percent go once a month or more. The rest go less than once a year or never.
Let’s face it, if the priest to whom you are confessing has known you for some time, do you really think your confession is anonymous?
Anonymous communication is seen as the cornerstone of an Internet culture that promotes sharing and free speech. If Priests would hear confessions via audio and video on the internet, some people would be more willing to confess.
A Catholic bishop has approved Confession: A Roman Catholic App, for use among churchgoers and lapsed Catholics alike.
Protected by a password, the app invites users to examine their consciences and confess to their sins. But it won’t replace the old-school booth. The app, which costs $1.99, just goes through the motions of confession, but churchgoers must see a priest for absolution.
There is the last hurdle (absolution). When you are in the confessional, you do not see the Priest, but he gives you absolution. Through a screen, through a brick wall, across the city, the state, the country or the internet, it really does not matter. Catholic priests have been given the authority by God to exercise the forgiveness of sins here on earth and it is in God’s Name by which the person confessing is forgiven. In theological terms, the priest acts in persona Christi and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The Council of Trent (Session Fourteen, Chapter I) quoted John 20:22-23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine concerning this sacrament.
Like many changes before that were seen to be beneficial, online confession and online absolution by a real priest will be seen to be beneficial. By making it easier for people to confess logistically, more will confess and the awareness of the desire to confess, more will confess. The Catholic Church will not be losing people by allowing absolution online, it will be gaining repentant souls. The Vatican has made major steps to embrace the 21st century. Just last month, Pope Benedict XVI gave his blessing to social networking, declaring, “I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible.”
