There’s nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In keeping with the space theme of this thread, I’m reminded of the urban legend about how Nasa spent millions on designing a pen which would work in zero gravity only to find a solution already existed called a pencil!
When it comes to confessing over skype, messenger, what’s app, viber or similar it’s really no different to asking why we can’t confess by letter. Granted more than a but of theological ink has been spilt on this subject but, for what it’s worth, I think it comes down to two essential features of the sacrament. The first is presence - being in the presence of Christ (in the person of the priest) but also of another human being - we are, after all, made for one another. The second is speaking sins aloud, effectively for our own benefit in that we acknowledge to ourselves (as well as the priest and to God) what we have done, owning it and accepting our responsibility for it as part of the path to healing.
In much the same way, the “what if there are no priests around” problem has come up before. In Japan, “hidden Christians” maintained the faith for almost 200 years even in the absence of priests and sacraments (except baptism and marriage). Likewise, the Church in Korea owes its founding to lay missionaries rather than clergy. Similar examples can be found in many other parts of the world where, during its early years, the Church in those places was sustained by the laity in between (at times) infrequent visits by priests. Even today, there are some isolated places which may only be visited by a priest once every few months at best.
So in many ways the Church has seen it all before and, as long as we remember what’s gone before, we can deal with whatever might be still to come in the future.
