Windows on Confession Rooms?

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Phemie said:
As I said previously, our diocese mandates that reconciliation rooms have glass in the doors so that people are in full view for precisely that reason. Our diocese has been almost bankrupted by sexual abuse lawsuits and they care more about avoiding more than making someone feel ‘private’.

There’s never been a guarantee of privacy with confession, only of confidentiality. The Church doesn’t guarantee that nobody’ll know you went (unless the priest was the only one around) only that nobody’ll know what you said.
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And, really, should the fact that you went to confession be something to hide?

Isn’t that, sadly, something that is needed just by virtue of being human ie. a sinner?

ICXC NIKA.
 
giuseppeTO said:
If you visit St. Peter’s in Rome, you will find many confessionals where the priest is in the “box” and the penitent kneels in the open. This is fairly common in the oldeest churches in Europe. Confession is intended to be a private sacrament and the extent of that privacy should be at the comfort of the penitent.
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I’ve used such confessionals as a child in VZ.

ICXC NIKA
 
bben15 said:
Hello. 🙂 I have noticed that a lot of confession rooms have windows on them, and some priests open the blinds on these windows. This is different from the traditional confessional, which doesn’t have any windows.

What are your opinions on this? Is it inappropriate for a priest to leave the blinds open, where everyone outside can see the priest and the penitent? Should not confession be private? Personally, if I was confessing, I would want the blinds to be closed, as I would feel uncomfortable with everyone being able to see me.

Thank you.
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There has never been a requirement for screening the penitent from the rest of the faithful. There is no requirement for the penitent to be screened from the priest, but there is a requirement for the Roman Church to have the screen if the penitent wishes it. (The other 20+ churches in union with Rome do not require a confessional even; in the byzantine rite, it’s typical to confess right by the ambon - in other words, at the foot of the altar.)

Given that face to face confession is (1) Encouraged within the Roman Church and (2) Normative for the other 20+ Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, and given that there have been a lot of abuse scandals, it’s actually quite prudent to have a window on a face to face confessional, if only to show that the priest is sitting and not being inappropriate. I don’t mind confession in the narthex - it’s quite humbling.
 
Aramis said:
There has never been a requirement for screening the penitent from the rest of the faithful.** There is no requirement for the penitent to be screened from the priest, but there is a requirement for the Roman Church to have the screen if the penitent wishes it.** (The other 20+ churches in union with Rome do not require a confessional even; in the byzantine rite, it’s typical to confess right by the ambon - in other words, at the foot of the altar.)

Given that face to face confession is (1) Encouraged within the Roman Church and (2) Normative for the other 20+ Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, and given that there have been a lot of abuse scandals, it’s actually quite prudent to have a window on a face to face confessional, if only to show that the priest is sitting and not being inappropriate. I don’t mind confession in the narthex - it’s quite humbling.
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There is a requirement that the confessional have a fixed grille between the penitent and the priest. The screen is to be used if the priest wishes it. Face to face can be used only if BOTH the priest and the penitent wish it.

As for the window, if it was only on the priest’s side, I wouldn’t mind it as much. But in the set ups I have encountered, the priest is still hidden but the penitent is visible through the window.
 
Corki said:
There is a requirement that the confessional have a fixed grille between the penitent and the priest. The screen is to be used if the priest wishes it. Face to face can be used only if BOTH the priest and the penitent wish it.

As for the window, if it was only on the priest’s side, I wouldn’t mind it as much. But in the set ups I have encountered, the priest is still hidden but the penitent is visible through the window.
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I still don’t understand what the problem is with this set up.

That said, the only reason to have a glass in the door of a traditional confessional, where there is no possibility of physical contact between penitent and priest, is to provide light in the space and that could easily be accomplished by wiring in a sconce with a 40 watt light bulb.

In the door of a ‘reconciliation room’, where physical contact IS possible, a glass seems to be a necessity these days if only to satisfy the insurance companies.
 
Phemie said:
I still don’t understand what the problem is with this set up.

That said, the only reason to have a glass in the door of a traditional confessional, where there is no possibility of physical contact between penitent and priest, is to provide light in the space and that could easily be accomplished by wiring in a sconce with a 40 watt light bulb.

In the door of a ‘reconciliation room’, where physical contact IS possible, a glass seems to be a necessity these days if only to satisfy the insurance companies.
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No, I believe that
their should be plastic window were the priest can,t see the other person,like you have in a bathroom window,because some people coming to confession might confess something bad,and does n,t want to be seen,plus,the priest can,t say anything, for what is said is between the person,the priest and God.
 
My parish church has confessionals which are private—no windows, anonymous—with a fixed grille, and are not dark but well lit, and pretty roomy. There is no possibility of physical contact between priest and penitent, and no need for a window.

Actually, I don’t mind confessing out in the open, at the altar rail, or at a pew during a penance service. But having a window in a confessional just seems kind of creepy. I’m wondering, what do priests do if someone makes an appointment to meet them in their office for a confession? You can’t very well invite someone else in to observe, and all our priest’s offices do not have windows.
 
JimG said:
I’m wondering, what do priests do if someone makes an appointment to meet them in their office for a confession? You can’t very well invite someone else in to observe, and all our priest’s offices do not have windows.
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I would guess the same thing they or anyone else does when they have a private meeting.

🤷
tee
 
tee_eff_em said:
I would guess the same thing they or anyone else does when they have a private meeting.

🤷
tee
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Yes, they meet them in private. Which is why I have a hard time understanding all the quasi-paranoia which would require putting windows on confessionals.
 
JimG said:
Yes, they meet them in private. Which is why I have a hard time understanding all the quasi-paranoia which would require putting windows on confessionals.
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Children rarely make appointments to meet with Father.
 
Phemie said:
Children rarely make appointments to meet with Father.
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Yes, that’s true. So it seems that the problem, if it exists, applies mainly to ‘reconciliation rooms.’ My own suggestion, which I’m sure no one will follow, would be to turn them all into confessionals where no physical contact is possible. 🙂
 
Some dioceses now require that clergy not meet with women in an office without either the door remaining open or a window being present.

This is primarily to prevent false accusations of impropriety.
 
CB_Catholic said:
I believe these windows are for the protection of the priest and penitent against claims of improper behavior by either. In this day and age, it seems this might be a good idea.
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This is exactly the reason for the windows. Not so much to protect the confessor, but the protect the priest from false accusations.
 
Aramis said:
Some dioceses now require that clergy not meet with women in an office without either the door remaining open or a window being present.

This is primarily to prevent false accusations of impropriety.
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If the door is open, so much for the seal of confession, ITASM?
 
FAB said:
This is exactly the reason for the windows. Not so much to protect the confessor, but the protect the priest from false accusations.
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Oops, “confessor” is the priest.

Methinks you meant “penitent.”

ICXC NIKA
 
Aramis said:
Some dioceses now require that clergy not meet with women in an office without either the door remaining open or a window being present.

This is primarily to prevent false accusations of impropriety.
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Last year I made an appointment for Confession with my pastor- we met in his office and he both closed and locked the door. I thought that was to prevent anyone accidentally walking in. I could see, though, why some priests wouldn’t want to do that.
 
At least one of the confessionals in our parish has an escape door for the priest on his side. Not sure about the other, as I have only been in one, and that was while giving a tour of the church. I usually go in the priest’s office.
 
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