Why is confession dwindling?

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angeline15

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This month I felt drawn to confession, and made three efforts to find one in the great big (catholic) city that is Chicago.
I first went to my main parish on a Saturday during the bulletins confession hours before the Saturday mass, only to find the church doors locked and no cars in the parking lot. Strangely I waited and when church goers entered, I did not find a confessional in use.

Dismayed I went the next week to a parish that advertises confession daily from 7am-6pm. Arriving after work at 5:15 the confessional was closed. I’m not sure if it closed early or the priest was called away, but I could not make it to Church any earlier due to taking the bus from work.

Then yesterday I attended benediction at yet another parish, now more determined than ever to get a confession in, since I do not believe in coincidences and feel that someone or something is trying to keep me from the sacrament. Confession was to take place for an hour after benediction and I put myself first in line. When the priest opened the confessional doors, low and behold a person went in and after 30 minutes did not emerge. I waited and while doing so, 8-9 additional people came and inserted themselves in the line without acknowledgement to those of us who waited after benediction and I did not get to go within the allotted time.

My question to other catholics is - do you see a trend of confession going away at your parishes? It seems like it is being downgraded to half hour intervals a week at many parishes and canceled all the time?

I’m planning to go today just because I am overly motivated by being denied it three times!

Thanks and God bless!
 
We only have Confesswion one day a month in our Parish – of course, the bulletin mentions that if a Confession is needed a priest would be available – more or less think that monthly Confession is a thing of the past - not sure why but that seems to be the way it is.
 
Wow only monthly? I see it usually advertised weekly, but only for 30 min before Saturday mass- and even then I have not found one open the full 30 minutes. I don’t understand why it is so difficult to find confession when its such an important sacrament. I see very few people abstain from communion, which brings me to believe that many may not be aware that you should abstain when in grave sin. Or maybe I just have a wonderful parish!
Thank you!
 
In the 1980’s in my home community under a thousand people living there, it was always available every evening before Mass.
 
I’m lucky to have a nearby parish which has confession every day at lunch time (right after Mass). It’s great, they also have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at the same time. I wish more were like this. It’s nice to be able to take a break at work and drive to church to go to confession and spend some time with our Lord in the Eucharist.

It’s interesting because there tends to be at least a few people on line for confession every time I go too.

It really depends on the area. However, there is a general decline in people going to confession, so a lot of churches don’t offer it often.
 
We have 50 or so parishes in my city and as far as I know, ONE that has confession every single day except Sunday. That’s the good news. The great news is confession is packed. Last time I tried to go the priest had to leave with about 6 of us in line because he had to go say mass.

It’s been my home parish for many years. St. Louis Bertrand (Dominican) in Louisville KY
 
In my experience, Confession is usually available for the asking at any Catholic Rectory. Just go in and ask the secretary/receptionist to see a priest. If he/she asks why you want to see a priest, simply tell them that it is of a personal nature. If there is a priest on the premises, you will get to see him.
Then, when you meet the priest, simply ask him to hear your confession. I have never heard of anyone who looked sane and sober to be turned down.
As bureaucratic as some modern parishes seem to be, turning down someone for Confession goes against everything the Catholic Church stands for.
 
It really varies. A lot of smaller parishes will only have scheduled confession once a week - often on a Saturday afternoon in my experience. On the other hand, I’ve known large parishes, including cathedrals, that have confession on a daily basis - sometimes more than once per day. The cathedral in Vancouver has confession Monday to Saturday two or three times a day and there are ALWAYS lines.
 
Seeing as the times for confession are dwindling and there also seems to be fewer in line it can only mean one thing. We are sinning less!
 
OP - try going to St John Cantius downtown. They have Confession beginning before Mass and up until the end of the homily. There are four lines and they move quickly. I have never seen a church with such wonderful commitment to Confession. I believe they have this at all Sunday Masses as well as the Saturday 5:00.

I have also experienced what you have in most places - showing up for Confession to find an empty church half the time.
 
I have heard this issue becoming quite common with listed Confession times. In the Priest’s defense, I think he is sitting there alone so often that it seems silly to keep sitting in an empty church.
 
BarbG said:
We only have Confesswion one day a month in our Parish – of course, the bulletin mentions that if a Confession is needed a priest would be available – more or less think that monthly Confession is a thing of the past - not sure why but that seems to be the way it is.
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Sadly, many Catholics have fallen for the Protestant thinking of just confessing their sins directly to God – they don’t think they need a priest. Also, there has been a LOT of bad catechesis starting in the late 1960’s and really continuing today in many places. A few years ago a co-worker told me she went to confession once a year during Lent, and when someone asked how she justified living with her boyfriend, she said that it wasn’t a sin because she didn’t feel guilty about it.

One thing that might help – call the parish and talk to the secretary and verify the times. You might also want to verify how confession is handled. A friend of mine once had a pastor who would go into the Church at the start of confession time, and if no one was there, he would leave.

I don’t know where you are in Chicago, but one parish that has a LOT of confession times is St. Mary of the Angels at 1850 N. Hermitage. Here is their schedule (some of the confessions are listed as being in the chapel): sma-church.org/static.asp?path=3066

You might also try St. John Cantius at 825 N. Carpenter St. They even have confessions during some of their Masses. If you’ve never been there, go. They have some of the most beautiful liturgies I have ever attended and the sense of the sacred is profound. Here is their confession schedule:

cantius.org/go/sacraments/category/penance_confession/
 
Well, I see different things, but a priest recently told me that in the 1950s Confession would last 3 hours.

I think there’s an issue in some smaller towns where there’s only 1-2 people every Saturday night ready to go, and another user pointed that out on here previously. There will also be cancellations on short (or even no) notice. :mad:

I cannot even begin to say how annoying that is, and I suspect that legitimate emergencies are not always the excuse.

The bigger parishes and Cathedrals are more attentive to Confession, but I doubt it’s what it used to be.

I think what you need to do from now on is call the parish you are going to in order to confirm.

I’m sorry to say that the internet is just not reliable and up-to-date.
 
WingsOfEagles said:
I have heard this issue becoming quite common with listed Confession times. In the Priest’s defense, I think he is sitting there alone so often that it seems silly to keep sitting in an empty church.
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Well, you know, it comes down to one thing:

It’s his job.

I would like to see more middle of the week confessions, like Wed/Th so people can go to daily mass more.

Of course, supply and demand does play a role. 🤷
 
I was at confession on Saturday, and the priest arrived 15 minutes after the church was opened, there were two people outside in the reception area, and only myself and another lady in the actual church. I’m not sure why this is, why there aren’t more people as it were.
 
Does it ever really happen for people to stop sinning all together? I’m not trying to be impertinent, but I was just wondering. We have confession at our church for one hour every day. Sometimes it’s crowded, sometimes it’s not.

I think the reason for this is it’s a parish with a lot of elderly people. They are aware that they could go any day, and want to be prepared.
 
I am blessed, my parish offers confession 30 minutes before each mass which is daily, twice on Fridays, and three times on Sunday. Usually on Sunday you need to get there early because there is usually a line. Those with more than one parish in their area are lucky. I have to drive an hour to get to church.
 
Reclaim said:
Sadly, many Catholics have fallen for the Protestant thinking of just confessing their sins directly to God – they don’t think they need a priest. Also, there has been a LOT of bad catechesis starting in the late 1960’s and really continuing today in many places. A few years ago a co-worker told me she went to confession once a year during Lent, and when someone asked how she justified living with her boyfriend, she said that it wasn’t a sin because she didn’t feel guilty about it.

One thing that might help – call the parish and talk to the secretary and verify the times. You might also want to verify how confession is handled. A friend of mine once had a pastor who would go into the Church at the start of confession time, and if no one was there, he would leave.

I don’t know where you are in Chicago, but one parish that has a LOT of confession times is St. Mary of the Angels at 1850 N. Hermitage. Here is their schedule (some of the confessions are listed as being in the chapel): sma-church.org/static.asp?path=3066

You might also try St. John Cantius at 825 N. Carpenter St. They even have confessions during some of their Masses. If you’ve never been there, go. They have some of the most beautiful liturgies I have ever attended and the sense of the sacred is profound. Here is their confession schedule:

cantius.org/go/sacraments/category/penance_confession/
Click to expand...
Thank you- I’ll try your suggestions. I don’t live near either of those parishes so as long as they have confession after work or weekends I will try. I feel less comfortable walking into a rectory without an appointment since I’m sure with my luck the priest will be unavailable. I just remember going monthly as a kid and now I don’t see much interest - even during Lent I’ve only heard of one reconciliation event during the whole 40 days.
 
Our church has Confession every day before noon Mass for half an hour, or by appointment. I have just made an appointment today to see the priest next Tuesday - you just have to email him, he is very accommodating.
 
Chicago… :rolleyes: The only thing worse is Vermont. All the good Catholics moved south of Kentucky by now. Lines are long here in the south. Y’all come down.

I went today before noon Mass too. I just walked into the Church and stood by the vestry 15 minutes before Mass and waited for Father to show up. He was genuinely happy to hear my confession and we prayed the Our Father together in the confessional.

So yeah, y’all come down. We’ll leave the tabernacle light on for ya. Bring a book to read while you wait because the line is gonna be long.
 
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