Webcam Confession?

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Irishgal49

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If the Church suddenly announced you can make your Confessions via telephone, email and/or webcam would you do it? Why or why not?
 
Irishgal49 said:
If the Church suddenly announced you can make your Confessions via telephone, email and/or webcam would you do it? Why or why not?
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No, Your ISP or other companies could record your confession and it could be used against you in a civil or criminal case. Think Divorce court or custody issues. :eek:
 
I’ll cut to the chase and post what other posters will most certainly be thinking:

This is an absurd question. The Truth cannot change. Thus, Confession will always have to be held in person. To ask “what if” is ridiculous.

But to go along with the question, I would still go in person 😛
 
Irishgal49 said:
It’s just a question
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I know. But there are some people here that don’t like the “what if” questions. There was a thread recently about “what if the Church changed her teaching on birth control? Would you use it?” The OP was blasted for even asking such a question. Some posters believed it was stupid to even contemplate that topic; it logically made no sense to them. I was just writing what some posters would certainly like to write later.

I apologize if I offended you though. I hope I didn’t scare you from the forums, as I see you’re somewhat new here :o
 
Irishgal49 said:
If the Church suddenly announced you can make your Confessions via telephone, email and/or webcam would you do it? Why or why not?
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No. The humbling experience of going to the church and standing in the long line is good for me. 🙂
 
I’m not offended at all. I actually LIKE the what if questions because they make me articulate my faith and how I have come to understand what I believe, I would NEVER want to give up those face-to-face minutes with my priest. I get so little time to share and confess to him knowing how busy he is, I value that time to share my struggles and be in the same room when he listens to me…I LOVE the sacrament.
 
The church has already ruled that absolution by writing is invalid and webcams et al. are just fancy forms of writing. Sacraments can only be conferred in person.

And even if we could be absolved via webcam, I wouldn’t, it’s beyond insecure.
 
I would still go to in-person confessions. I am also thankful that it is pretty much impossible for the Church to ever change this aspect of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

There are many reasons why making confession something you could do via phone, email, texting, webcam, etc. would be bad. Two good reasons have already been given: privacy concerns, and the healthy sense of humility that takes place as one waits their turn and then enters the confessional.

Some other reasons why the way the Church handles confessions is better are that:
  1. Aside from waiting in line being humbling it also can be encouraging to see that your fellow Christians in the same position and to know you’re not alone.
  2. There is something lost in all non-direct forms of communication. Talking with someone in person is irreplaceable, even with webcams and the like.
  3. Confessions in person are able to be held anywhere, anytime, for anyone. Were confession to take place via phone or computer it would be dependent on the individual having access to that technology.
  4. It would make it impossible for the confessor to comfort the person making confession if afterward they needed a good hug or a pat on the back.
  5. It would be just as absurd as performing other sacraments using these mediums. Can you imagine marrying your spouse via webcam? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well confession would be just as ridiculous if not performed in person.
 
My answer is no, it’s bad enough that I hardly talk to my boss at work. I have to email him, he seats right next to me. 😃
 
I think I would only do so in an extraordinary situation, like, say, if I were to find myself in an isolated part of the world and was facing imminent death.
 
Irishgal49 said:
I actually LIKE the what if questions because they make me articulate my faith and how I have come to understand what I believe, I would NEVER want to give up those face-to-face minutes with my priest.
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What if the only way one could attend a Mass was one televised? What if in the future there were teleportation devices, in each home, say, a “Mr. Teleporter” which would rematerialize any dematerialized things it received. What if the priests assisting with the remote Mass were able to teleport the consecrated hosts to all the faithful. Theologians would call it a “Teleretransubstantiation.”
 
coolduude said:
I know. But there are some people here that don’t like the “what if” questions. There was a thread recently about “what if the Church changed her teaching on birth control? Would you use it?” The OP was blasted for even asking such a question. Some posters believed it was stupid to even contemplate that topic; it logically made no sense to them. I was just writing what some posters would certainly like to write later.

I apologize if I offended you though. I hope I didn’t scare you from the forums, as I see you’re somewhat new here :o
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Most only dislike the questions when they encourage speculation in areas where the church has made it known that it is impossible. This is the case with this question. Confession must be done in person.
 
As much as I like modern technology, I would still want to confess in person.

If you have a smart phone, get the iConfess application. Its a great way to prepare yourself to make a good confession, and I have used already a few times.
 
Irishgal49 said:
If the Church suddenly announced you can make your Confessions via telephone, email and/or webcam would you do it? Why or why not?
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There is no “what if.” It will not happen. Confession was, is, and always will be in person.
 
“What if” … I personally feel it an awesome experience to confess to a Priest. Something we should cherish in our faith. Because, Jesus said it could be so, “Who’s sins you forgive, whose sins you retain…” Email confession?? Then if the server is hacked is it the Priest’s fault? Or your email compromised, is it now your fault?
Why complicate such a wonderful gift of the Church. Nothing is written in the confessional, nothing is typed…no passwords to protect. Why complicate things.
And to the post which spoke about… WHAT IF… your far from a Church…another country…and no Priest is present…then…WHAT IF??? I say, God’s grace and love is better a Skype conversation. And if you were in that position. Would your cell phone work? Or why if you knew you were traveling would you not go to confession before you left. When I travel at work I always see my Pastor ((Before flying))) flying is fun it’s the taking off and landing that make me nervous. So confess before a situation like that, then if you are in danger say an act of contrition and place your faith in God, which is where it should be anyway.
 
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