Fr. David,
So in the first quote it talks about an open place like a church right? So most everyone is following that. But the second part of that…there is a stationary grating…not every churches are built to accomodate that. Even our seminary up the road has a reconciliation room like our parish has which does not have a stationary grate.
- The confessional for female penitents should always be located in an open and conspicuous place, generally in a church or otherwise in a public or semipublic oratory designated for women. The confessional should be built so that there is a stationary perforated grating between confessor and penitent.
The next part of that is confessions for females outside of the confessional. Would not the pastors office be appropriate…perhaps even more appropriate in cases such as our parish where the church might be almost empty but there are offices right outside of Fr’s office? I understand not in a private home or in the rectory-for Fr’s protection as well as the woman’s.
9. Confessions of female penitents should never be heard outside a confessional, except in the case of illness or some other real necessity, and observing then such precautionary measures as the local Ordinary deems opportune. Confessions of men, however, may be heard even in a private home.
Before anything else, we have to put all this into context.
Those rubrics were from the 1962 Roman Ritual.
There is a false notion prevalent in the Church today that somehow when the rites (any of them) were revised after Vatican II that we have “new” Sacraments. People talk about “pre-Vatican II confessions” or “post Vatican II confessions.” This is a false dichotomy. There is only one sacrament, but the ritual was revised in 1973. Sometimes, rules and rubrics do carry over from one version to the next, sometimes they do not. For example, the rule that says a priest cannot violate the Seal of Confession applies just as much today as it did in the past. On the other hand, some things do change, like the long-form of Absolution (God the Father of Mercies…). The short form “I absolve you…” has not changed.
The Confession rite printed in 1962 remains the “extraordinary form” today. So this isn’t just a matter of being curious about how things were like in the past–it’s relevant to the present.
Now, having said that, I think I can move on to your questions.
I think that rule #8 is meant to make clear that a church must have an appropriate place for women to confess. It cannot be an isolated area. Even in a house for women (like a convent) it still has to be a place where all the women residents can have access.
Canon law requires that confessionals have a fixed grate between the priest and penitent. Unfortunately this canon is often ignored, especially when someone is designing a new church or renovating an old one. Although it’s certainly true that we’ve seen these disappear in recent decades (and return in more recent years), doing so is not in harmony with canon law. The Church pre-supposes that confessionals will be build in accord with canon law, so likewise the Church pre-supposes that there will always be a fixed grille in a confessional.
Rule #9 says that confessions of women should always be heard in a proper confessional, unless there’s some necessity. That leaves a lot of room for interpretation. So, is it wrong to hear confessions of women in the parish office? Yes, but… If there’s a need, it’s acceptable. So a priest who says “we won’t have a confessional in this parish, instead I expect everyone to stop by the pastor’s office…” would be in the wrong (unless of course it’s temporary). On the other hand, if circumstances call for it and there’s no danger of anything improper, it is not (repeat not) wrong for a priest to hear a woman’s confession in the office.
Here again, we’re dealing with a conflict between what we see in practice and what the Church expects as described in canon law. The law (yes, the 1983 code) still requires that confessions generally be heard in a proper confessional. Naturally, we can all think of several examples where confessions may be heard outside of a confessional—lest we get a whole string of posts saying “what about a hospital visit?” or “what about this-or-that?”
Under normal, everyday circumstances, a confessional with a fixed grille must be available for confession.
What is this world coming to? Really, the people who come up with these policies do it to themselves with catholics thinking all priests are sex offenders.