Vatican laments drop in confessions

[EasterJoy]

I think there needs to be some basic catechesis on the sacrament and related practical aspects - probably during the homily. Starting off with why priests have the authority to bind and loose, what sins need to be confessed, the benefits of the sacrament, a how-to with a cheat sheet in the bulletin, a primer on how the lights work over the confessional, what to expect when you walk in the door (details on options like screen and face-to-face). All followed by a invitation - probably a repeated invitation - no RSVP needed.

This is exactly what I meant when referring to priests who have “worked at it.” In their homilies, they repeatedly speak about the reality of sin and God’s desire to forgive, they teach the precept of annual confession and stress that it is a minimum, they thank their parents for taking them to confession regularly as children, they give talks and put inserts in their bulletins on “why catholics need confession”, they talk about the value of confessing their own sins, they hold penance services with six or eight priests available for private confession during Advent and Lent and reciprocate at the other priests’ parishes, they repeatedly invite people to confess regularly, they make up “how to” sheets for examination of conscience and making a confession, and they make it clear that they welcome appointments outside their “regular” hours for anyone who wants that for any reason.

In their parishes, you’d have to be asleep to keep the misconception that “nobody needs to go to confession anymore.” If you don’t get to confession a few minutes early, you’ll be waiting awhile in their confession lines, and they occasionally have to stay after their Saturday Vigil Masses to finish up, but these are big parishes. Neither one is anything like satisfied with their accomplishments.

 

[Shin]

This is exactly what I meant when referring to priests who have “worked at it.” In their homilies, they repeatedly speak about the reality of sin and God’s desire to forgive, they teach the precept of annual confession and stress that it is a minimum, they thank their parents for taking them to confession regularly as children, they give talks and put inserts in their bulletins on “why catholics need confession”, they talk about the value of confessing their own sins, they hold penance services with six or eight priests available for private confession during Advent and Lent and reciprocate at the other priests’ parishes, they repeatedly invite people to confess regularly, they make up “how to” sheets for examination of conscience and making a confession, and they make it clear that they welcome appointments outside their “regular” hours for anyone who wants that for any reason.

In their parishes, you’d have to be asleep to keep the misconception that “nobody needs to go to confession anymore.” If you don’t get to confession a few minutes early, you’ll be waiting awhile in their confession lines, and they occasionally have to stay after their Saturday Vigil Masses to finish up, but these are big parishes. Neither one is anything like satisfied with their accomplishments.

This is the kind of story that is good to hear.

 

[shuzo1189]

At my Current Parish Confession is offered every week day from 11:00AM-12:00PM and 4:00-5:00PM, Every 30 Min before mass on First Sunday (And at 8:30AM every Sunday Morning) and at 4:00-5:30PM on Saturday. It is not uncommon for there to be lines looping around the Parish for people waiting for Confession. The Dominicans deliver excellent homilies and have no problem talking about personal sin. I remember during Lent one of the Friars flat out said “My Goal for all of you is after mass to say the Stations of the Cross, If you can’t do that do it some time this week, but the point is do it”.

 

[Califman831]

I stopped going because the door was always closed and the priest no where to be found.

 

[Tosk]

My parish has daily confession on weekdays and twice on Saturday and there is always a line. In fact, there is usually so much of a line that you have to show up 15 min before if you want a chance to make your confession, or just get a little aggressive, “c’mon grandma, hurry it up. We’ve got some serious sinners out here”.

 

[Alindawyl]

During his homilies, our priest often talks about the need for confession. He makes sure that there’s a service held during Lent and Advent every year with about five priests present and encourages everyone to attend that evening. He greatly stresses and repeats the words “at minimum” when saying we are supposed to go to confession once a year at minimum, and encourages going to confession once a month.

Regular confessions are scheduled for 3:30-4:15 every Saturday and he lists his mobile/pager number in the church bulletin to make sure we know it if we need to contact him at any time for confession, anointing of the sick, some sort of spiritual crisis… whatever. If I show up early there are usually 4-5 other people waiting by the scheduled start time, and I’ve seen as many as 10 in line when I’ve shown up late.

I most definitely give thanks and pray for the continuing health of our priest

One of the transitional deacons in our diocese spent the past year at our parish before being ordained a month ago. He got to hear some of his first confessions at our church the following Saturday. Less than a week of being an ordained priest and he was already handling confessions as smoothly as if he’d been doing it for decades. If he’s typical of the new batch of priests in the United States, then the anecdotal stories about their orthodoxy are very much true and great things are in store for all of us in the coming years.

 

[SacredHeart1987]

In my parish, absolutely nobody goes to confession except for like 6 people myself included. The most telling thing I see these days is nobody going to confession and everybody receiving communion. I hate to think about all the people in my parish who are eating and drinking judgment upon themselves by not discerning the body of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:29). They need to get back to the sacrament of reconciliation and get absolution before they die in a state of mortal sin.

 

[Provigil]

I agree with the Vatican about people confessing their sins. I go every week with a family of 700 and there are at least two people there on Saturday.

I concur with this priest because people have STOPPED going to Confesion, commiting sins, and still rceivingthe Blessed Sacrament which would be a sacreligious

However, I do not believe that the psychologist replaces the priest unless his hands are consecrated.

I blame some of this on the priests. They NEVER talk about SINS and going to CONFESSION just to receive the graces. I have spoken with several people and they say why should I tell my sins to a man? I go straight to God. WHAT A WRONG CONCEPT.

People will tell me that why shoud they go to confession they do not sin. Well, this a miracle if they do not sin, but I believe the responsibility lies with the priest in talking mrte about it/.

It isn’t my place to JUDGE, but you would not believe the people that come to mass just for EASTER and CHRISTMAS and have the audacity in receiving Christ which naturally will turn in a sacreligious communion.

Very Frustrated,

PROVOGIL​

 

[BWNM]

Greatest victory devil has accomplished is to convince that hell doesn’t exists.

Just my two cents…

God Bless

 

[Brendan]

Our parish has confessions before every Mass, every day. Plus a 3 hour block on Saturdays.

And there are usually long lines.

 

[Elizabeth502]

I’ve posted several times this year about how often my own ultra-tradtional parish holds confession: 7 days/week (including Easter Sunday), before & during several Masses per day. (My other parish is a very non-traditional one which holds them once/week and almost no one goes. Three priests staff that church and it is not a cluster parish.) Two examples of extremes within a few miles of each other and both within the same major urban area.

But here’s what I don’t get: What took the Vatican so long to notice what’s been going on for decades? Perhaps Pope Benedict is actually paying attention.

 

[EasterJoy]

I’ve posted several times this year about how often my own ultra-tradtional parish holds confession: 7 days/week (including Easter Sunday), before & during several Masses per day. (My other parish is a very non-traditional one which holds them once/week and almost no one goes. Three priests staff that church and it is not a cluster parish.) Two examples of extremes within a few miles of each other and both within the same major urban area.

But here’s what I don’t get: What took the Vatican so long to notice what’s been going on for decades? Perhaps Pope Benedict is actually paying attention.

I don’t think the Vatican failed to notice. It is just coming up again. Also, the Vatican is realizing more and more the value of direct communication to the faithful, rather than communication through the bishops, which in the past was the only practical method.

Archbishop Vlazny here in Portland has commented many times that continually communicating what the Vatican says is his job. The Pope can write all he wants, but without the cooperation of the bishops, and the cooperation of the pastors with the bishops, very little of it trickles down to the faithful. Even with YouTube, it is still true. One good homily will do more good than a hundred hits on the internet. Nevertheless, the Pope has learned, I think, that speaking to the Associated Press more often has the effect that more of the faithful start asking about what they’ve not been hearing on Sundays. That is a good thing, too.

 

[EasterJoy]

This is the kind of story that is good to hear.

We are very blessed. I have to had to learn, though, that when I defend the faithful priests I know, I am sometimes a million miles from the experiences that some very frustrated fellow Catholics are getting, so much so that it is hard for me to imagine. It has been a hard lesson for me to swallow, and I have added to the frustration of many by my scepticism over what they suffer. Still, I won’t let the good ones be put into the same boat with the ones who need so much improvement. There are some very good ones out there. It isn’t fair to paint them as the same brush as the brother priests who have them frustrated, too! It only adds insult to injury. So its a fine line we have to walk here on the forums.

 

[Robin]

When I was a kid, about a hundred years ago, *Everthing *seemed to be a Mortal Sin! You couldn’t turn your head and glance at a cute girl if you were a boy or you would commit a mortal sin. We weren’t told that. But we were pretty sure it was true! Then in the 70’s pop psychology came along. It wasn’t so easy to commit a Mortal Sin - as it used to be - when every action was cut and dried. Maybe we should go back to making it easier to get a Mortal Sin and the long lines would come back…I jest.

There was little love and a lot of obligation and fear. Don’t believe it? Ask your GrandParents. Really, the good old days when we feared God so much we Couldn’t really love him were not that good. But what would an 8 year old kid know about it when I look back. You had to have been there. Which was better. Relying on Gods Mercy to much perhaps as most folks do in this age, or fearing God so much that you Couldn’t love Him. What do you think?

Now, I go to Mass for the Love of Christ, I finally know what the mass is! I know why I go to Church. It took many, many, years to come to that. I feared the Confessional so bad that it took nearly 40 years to get up the Nerve to step back into one. I weep at the people I know who still can’t make that step. They were too damaged and I can not help them. I can only pray and hope God answers my prayers before it is to late for them.

And yes, I think the new Happy//Clappy Masses that some parishes have are heartbreaking. Recently, I visited an upscale parish. The pews were Upholstered!
I was floored! What have we come to?
Please excuse an old mans speculation. I also worry about the young people and the world they have to live their lives in. It Was much simpler when I was a kid.
ROBIN

 

[cknick]

No offense to many of the posters, but I wish people would quit focusing on the lines outside of the confessional, and learn to offer that suffering up, as an additional pennance for your sins. Believe me, God’s time is much more valuable than ours! Please…we are always in such a hurry, and into immediate gratification, that using that time of waiting for reflection on more appropriate behavior, is probably a good idea!

 

[EasterJoy]

No offense to many of the posters, but I wish people would quit focusing on the lines outside of the confessional, and learn to offer that suffering up, as an additional pennance for your sins. Believe me, God’s time is much more valuable than ours! Please…we are always in such a hurry, and into immediate gratification, that using that time of waiting for reflection on more appropriate behavior, is probably a good idea!

Lines at the confessional are a good thing, like having so many kids in your parish that there is barely a Mass where a parent doesn’t have to leave because someone is acting up. If someone takes “too long” once in awhile, you know you don’t have a confessor that rushes those who need the extra attention. It’s like having a family doctor who runs late once in awhile. You know he’s not working his job by the clock.

If the parish is doing things right, there will be a lot of these joyful little inconveniences.

 

[VanillaBean]

No offense to many of the posters, but I wish people would quit focusing on the lines outside of the confessional, and learn to offer that suffering up, as an additional pennance for your sins. Believe me, God’s time is much more valuable than ours! Please…we are always in such a hurry, and into immediate gratification, that using that time of waiting for reflection on more appropriate behavior, is probably a good idea!

I don’t think anyone was complaining about the lines…I think those who are blessed enough to have lines are proud of it. Sort of an honorable type of bragging?

 

[Emerite]

I believe there are spiritual and psychological benefits to going to Confession, and really regret hearing that a Vatican official is lamenting that many faithful no longer confess their sins. However, as a Senior citizen, I fell that I’ve evolved and have mostly overcome my weaknesses, while really taking seriously the part of the Act of Contrition at Confession that says, “and to amend my life. Amen.” Daily prayer, attending Mass regularly, and having parents who provided a Catholic school education and, at home, talked about God, the saints, morals, etc., really help. Wouldn’t like seeing the demise of confession – it’s so good for the soul.

 

[sparkletina]

My friend lives quite a ways from our church but managed to get there well within the allotted time for confession one day, followed by another man who wanted to confess also. As they walked up to the confessional, the priest was leaving & locking up. They looked at their watches & asked him to hear their confessions. His response? “Just confess your sins to God; He will forgive you,” gave them each a blessing and promptly walked out. I’m sorry, this is not a man of God. I think it is quite shocking when a priest refuses to hear someone’s confession, when legitimately requested. Perhaps priests like this should read the biography of the Cure d’Ars, St. Jean Marie Vianney, who spent most of his LIFE in the confessional!!! He seemed to think it was IMPORTANT!! It is extrremely disturbing to know priests like this are not in the least concerned about the sanctification of the sheep they are supposed to be shepherding. More like false shepherds, if you ask me. And (along with lack of catechesis from the pulpit on a daily/weekly basis) probably the reason the second-largest denomination in this country is EX-Catholics!! I never confess to priests such as this–I wouldn’t trust their advice anyway.

 

[IAGladfelter]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican official is lamenting that many faithful no longer confess their sins, and says some confuse a psychologist’s couch for a confessional booth.

AP Story Here

Joe B

There is an increase in skepticism in this country which may well account for at least some of this. Things are not as bad as they are in Europe, but things seem, according to some, to be trending in that direction. People are losing their faith in God due to the agnosticism / atheism taught in our public school science classes, on T.V. (especially on the science and history channels,) and atheism / agnosticism is ubiquitious in the media.

If there is no God (or if there is, if he is either only an “evolutionarily useful concept” instead of an actual Supreme, Supernatural Being,) there is no “rule-maker” so there are no rules. If there are no rules the idea of sin is nonsense, and confession is useless unless one sees it as a form of psychotherapy, so why not just go to a psychologist? This is dangerous stuff, as as members of the Church we need to fight this mind-set.

If there is no Faith, there is no Hope. If there is no Hope, there can be no Love. This leads to amorality. We can see this all around us, and it is getting worse.

All of use need to go to confession weekly if not more often. All of us need a competent Spiritual Director. All of us need to go to Mass weekly if not daily. We need to encourage each other in all these areas; and beyond that, in our country, in this day and age, we are now living in a mission field: We are all missionaries. We need to start acting like missionaries for Christ and His Church!

Blessings