Can the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession be given over the telephone? If not, why not? If so, why doesn’t the Church promote it more? For example, in churches I often see signs listing confession hours, but never a phone number to call to confess if you can’t make it to the church at one of the assigned times.
“…our poperators are standing by…”
If you’ve masturbated…press “one”
If you’ve broken a commandment…press “two”
If you’ve…
I’m not Catholic, so my understanding of the mechanics of confession is nonexistant and unhelpful.
However, I do know a little bit about human nature, and I think this statement made by Frank Harvey says a lot about it (may not be an exact quote) “Whenever a group gets together and decides what the minimum requirements are, that soon becomes the maximum which people do”.
In other words, if confessing over the phone is sufficient, the motivation to actually go to the building, interact with people diminishes. Many churches have enough problem with declining congregations and lack of involvement, without encouraging a drop in foot traffic-- which may reduce attendence at services, involvement in other activities, reduction of tithing . . .
It would never work, even if it was desired. A good confessor will ask probing questions, until the penitent has explored the completenes of the sin (or not) and understands fully the ramifications thereof. That doesn’t happen over the phone. With a call you can just hang up. In a confessional, you have to get up and walk away. There is a big difference. Besides, to really get things off you chest requires one on one, face to almost face discussion. Not possible over the phone or internet.
In regards to tithing, couldn’t they just set-up a 900 number and charge outrageous amounts, much like sex lines? I would imagine this could be quite a stream of revenue.
Apparently, not only is confession by telephone not allowed, but neither is confession by e-mail.
“Forgive me Father, for at this very moment…”
So what happens if you’re too sick to make it to the church to confess? Is the priest obligated to make house calls?
I know several priests who hear the confessions of sick people when they take communion to their homes.
One of the few things I recall about Catholic rites is that there are two ways of confessing/getting forgiveness for your sins.
The first, and most common, is confessing to a priest. This only requires that you be sorry for your sin(s) or, maybe (IIRC) fearful of going to Hell.
The second type requires something like love for God and sincere regret for the sin. This can be done by you, individually. So in this case, it does appear that sometimes one doesn’t need to confess to a priest.
I apologize to any Catholics out here if I have worded this wrongly or mis-stated the points. I am sure that someone will be along with a definitive word on my poor attempt at an explanation.