Priest offers drive-through confessions during coronavirus

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Tis_Bearself

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I don’t know where this photo was taken, but I saw it on social media.
My mother and my aunts used to joke about having drive-through confession and called it “Toot n’ Tell”.
Now it’s a reality.

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On the one hand I understand a priest trying to minister to his parishioners during a time where people are rightfully concerned about their own health and welfare and the health and welfare of those around them; on the other hand, boy this really cheapens the Sacrament of Confession and Absolution. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right, in person, eye-to-eye, and not rushed.
 
Hodos said:
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right, in person, eye-to-eye, and not rushed.
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He IS doing it “right”, “in person”, “eye to eye”, and I’m not seeing any rushing going on here.

He’s simply doing it from the recommended “social distance” out in the open air.

Edited to add, the article even says if somebody doesn’t want to go “face to face” but instead “behind the screen”, the priest puts a blindfold on. He apparently has another priest or deacon directing the traffic to him.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
He IS doing it “right”, “in person”, “eye to eye”, and I’m not seeing any rushing going on here.

He’s simply doing it from the recommended “social distance” out in the open air.
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Social distance can also be maintained behind closed doors away from distractions and in private. And what about the pastor placing his hands on the head of the penitent and pronouncing the Absolution to them?

Like I said, I credit this man with trying to minister to his parishioners. But I think we should think about the image of the drive-thru confession and what the communicates to the body of Christ about this sacrament.
 
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Fauken said:
Physical contact is not required for a valid absolution.
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I never said it was. But there is a reason why we do it, going back to the Old Testament. I think we shouldn’t just casually toss that aside.
 
Hodos said:
eye-to-eye,
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Not a fan of eye to eye. Prefer the confessional with the screen.
Tis_Bearself said:
the article even says if somebody doesn’t want to go “face to face” but instead “behind the screen”, the priest puts a blindfold on.
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That mignt help.

Actually I am thinking, this is a good thing because the sacrament of penance is something many people are needing right now. When the thought hit me that the confessionals would also be closed I was quite concerned for many people.
 
In the Latin Catholic church (I can’t speak for the Eastern), the priest does not lay hands on the penitent or have any other physical contact with the penitent. The more so in view of all the abuse scandals. Definitely a “no touching” situation even without coronavirus.

The traditional way of confessing was for the penitent to be behind a screen, so the priest could hear and not see them. In many confessionals, the screen was actually a wall so the penitent was essentially in a separate room and the priest couldn’t get to them.

Face-to-face confession as currently done is optional at the request of the penitent, and only started in the 1970s.

As for “distractions”, I’m not seeing any distractions. The priest has made it clear that he is doing this because the churches are essentially on lockdown in his area. However, as EmeraldLady said, Catholics often confess in much more hectic atmospheres than these. At Lourdes and other shrines there will be long lines in the open air to get to a priest for confession, and all kinds of other stuff going on around the confession line (people praying, singing, some kind of church service happening, people conversing with their companions etc). I’ve been to shrines where hundreds of people were milling around while a line of people were waiting to confess in the open air to priests sitting sideways in chairs not looking at them.

Even the annual Easter and Christmas confession services at parish churches, with 15 priests sitting in different pews and chairs all over an open church hearing the confessions of 100 to several hundred people over 2 hours. are always way more hectic than this peaceful scene.
 
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I just saw this photo too and was going to post it, but you beat me to it. I think it’s a good idea for those who need to go to confession.
 
I’ve never had a priest touch me during confession. Do they do this?
 
Hodos said:
I never said it was. But there is a reason why we do it, going back to the Old Testament. I think we shouldn’t just casually toss that aside.
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Who is “we”? I thought you were a non-Catholic? Lutheran, right?

With all due respect, if you’re not a Catholic, it’s really not your place to judge Catholic confession. You’re free to handle it the way you want in your own church; kindly don’t criticize ours for making our arrangements in our own manner that we believe is quite correct.

I agree with CajunJoy, God bless this priest for being creative and doing this - and it may very well motivate a few folks to go to confession!
 
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Hodos said:
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Fauken:
Physical contact is not required for a valid absolution.
Click to expand...
I never said it was. But there is a reason why we do it, going back to the Old Testament. I think we shouldn’t just casually toss that aside.
Click to expand...
I’ve never had a priest touch me except when receiving the Sacrament of Healing of the Sick along with confession.

And I sometimes go to confession with FSSP priests.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
In the Latin Catholic church (I can’t speak for the Eastern), the priest does not lay hands on the penitent or have any other physical contact with the penitent.
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I know of at least one Spanish language church that does lay hands on the penitent. Maybe it’s expected or common in some Hispanic parishes.
 
It may be done in other cultures.
I’ve never seen it in USA, or at the shrines I’ve gone to in Europe.
Until recent years, as I said, the physical design of the confessionals would have made it impossible.
Many places are still using those old school confessionals.
 
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Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance
Rite of Penance 1974 (still in effect)
19. " … … Following the penitent’s prayer, the priest extends his hands, or at least his right hand, over the head of the penitent and pronounces the formulary of absolution, … …"

Does not lay his hand/s on the penitents head.
 
I’ve been needing to go to confession for a few weeks now, but my work schedule hasn’t been the best. I was counting on the last week of lent when my parish has every day and super long hours of confession as my last resort if I didn’t make it. I really want a drive-thru confession at the moment if that’s the way I can get one especially since I’m in the “high risk” category and am not supposed to be going out very much.
 
Hodos said:
The catholic church is not circumscribed by Roman Catholicism no matter what you would insist about it.
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This isn’t a thread about the scope of the “catholic church”. It’s a thread about a Latin Catholic priest hearing confessions.
Your criticism of him for not doing something that Latin Catholic priests have never done in many of our and our parents’ experiences (and isn’t required according to CRV’s post above) is off topic here, and out of place.

We Catholics are happy that this priest has found a creative way to provide the sacraments to people in a time of crisis, when some of the people going to confession might even be in danger of dying of this virus.
And you’re dumping on it. Not very respectful or kind.
 
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