Priests say more Catholics returning to confession

The words which usually serve as the opening to confession, a sacrament in the Catholic Church, are being heard more by local priests these days. The reason - confession seems to be making a comeback.

Although fewer people sought absolution in the post-Vatican II era, it appears as though confession, also known as the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, is on the rise in the Diocese of San Bernardino.

The Sacrament of Penance allows Catholics to confess their sins to a priest through a screen in a small closed confessional, under cover of darkness. They were then granted absolution from the priest.

But some things about confession have changed. The pitch-dark stalls of the confessional are mostly a thing of the past. Today, some confessionals have windows and many seeking confession face their priests.

Not all confessions are private anymore, either. Some of the devout partake in communal penance services.

The Rev. Michael Manning, pastor of St. Anthony's Church in San Bernardino, said he has seen the numbers rising at weekly confession services every Saturday and for seasonal penance services.

"Now what we're offering before Christmas and Easter is a communal confession time," Manning said. "We have several priests there, and we share a reflection on Scripture, then people will share one or two of their sins."

Highland resident Donna Rice, who is a practicing Catholic, said she prefers the penance services to whispering in the confessional.

"Speaking for myself, going to confession helps," said Rice, 56. "It's a good thing, to be reconciled back into the community, to hear from a priest, `Yes, you are forgiven.' Some people need permission to forgive themselves."

It isn't just older Catholics who are coming to confession, either. It's a good mix of young and old alike, Manning said.

"I think what's going on is we're living in a world that has become much more sensitive to our spiritual life and afterlife," he said. "The whole challenge of the afterlife is very strong in movies and television, and I think the media is simply mirroring the concerns of people these days. People are realizing they need more.

"There's an awareness of fragility of our own lives, with the war and the accounts of so many people who are dying. The security we once had we don't have any more with the gangs, violence and the war."

Rice agreed and said events such as Sept. 11, 2001, the war in Iraq and the sexual abuse that occurred within the church, may be driving people back to confession.

"I think people are just looking for answers as to why these things are going on," she said.

Michael Houran, a professor of religious education and pastoral theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said a communal service could be socially appealing.

"Nationally, there has been much written about Catholics' interest in a form of reconciliation that allows them to publicly celebrate their desire to be forgiven of their sinfulness," Houran said.

"This seems to me to be a positive trend because it recognizes that our sinfulness has social consequences. Therefore, why wouldn't you want to celebrate forgiveness in fairly large social context rather than only one-on-one with a priest?"

In the Diocese of San Bernardino, the 10th-largest diocese in the country, church officials say confession is on the rise.

In Hesperia, at least one church had been taking two hours for confession, and a penance service in Rancho Cucamonga this week served more than 1,000 people, officials said.

"The Catholic Church has always treasured the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation," said the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the San Bernardino Diocese, which encompasses San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Lincoln attributed the rise partly to the diocese's already large population. Catholics number more than 2.1 million in both counties.

Another reason is that the diocese is growing and there is a major influx of new residents from ethnic backgrounds that tend to be Roman Catholic.

Post-Vatican II, Catholics began to neglect the practice of confession. A 1980 University of Notre Dame study showed that 26 percent of active Catholics never attended confession.

The Rev. David Fitzgerald, pastor of Our Lady of Assumption in San Bernardino, said he too, has noticed confession making a comeback.

"There's no arguing that it was on the decline, but probably in the last five years, it's definitely making a big comeback," Fitzgerald said. "I encourage people to go to confession not just for renewal, but because it plays a role in their overall psychological and spiritual health and helps people live more balanced lives."

Two years ago, Our Lady of Assumption Church remodeled its confessionals, putting in windows to bring in natural light and widening the doors to make it more accessible for the disabled.

After the remodel, the number of confessions increased so much that the time for Fitzgerald to hear confessions jumped from 30 minutes to three hours.

"I am never, ever sitting in the confessional waiting for someone to come in," he said.

"I also like the Catholic way of absolution when the Priest says "I hereby absolve you of your sins."

I have always thought that the "Absolvo te" of the Latin Rite absolution is a good example of the different views about the Mysteria of The Church which prevail in the Latin West and the Greek East.

Here's the Greek absolution form:

"My spiritual child, who have made your confession to my humble person: I, humble and sinful, have no power to put away sins on earth unless God does it. But, trusting in the divnely uttered pronouncement that was addressed to the Apostles after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, saying, "If you remit the sins of any persons, they are remitted; if you you retain the sins of any persons, they have been retained"--in that import we also boldly say: As many offences as you have owned up to to my mosst humble lowliness, and as many as you have failed to say either though ignorance or forgetfulness--of whatever kin--may GOD absolve you both in the present age and in the age to come."

[Then bidding the penitent to kneel, the priest places his tole and hand over the head of the penitent, and touching it in four places in the form of a Cross, says the following Prayer of Absolution]:

"May GOD, Who through Nathan the Prophet forgave David when he confessed his sins; and Peter, who wept bitterly over his denial; and the harlot who shed tears on His feet; and the Publican and the Prodigal; may the very same God, through sinful me, absolve you of all transgressions both in the present age and in the age to come; and may He let you stand uncondemned before His dread Judgment Seat. As for the sins that you have confessed, have no further anxiety about them; go in peace.
The Grace of the all-holy Spirit, through me, least of all, has exonerated and forgiven you. At the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, God, have mercy and save us. Ameen."

Very different from the West, isn't it.

" But the theology is the same."

Is it? Doesn't the "Absolvo te of the Latin Rite demonstrate that the absolution is coming from the priest whereas in the Orthodox formulation it is clear that absolution is from God? This has implications for the fundamental difference between the nature of the grace conferred by the sacrament, created (Latin) and uncreated (Orthodox).

No, it's very clear, at least to the catechized, that any authority to retain or remit sins by the priest is granted under the gospel passage that you quoted. It is true he says the words "I absolve you", but if anyone doesn't understand that the absolution is granted by God then they are poorly catechized. All sin is against God, forgiveness can only come from God.

Now, as to whether the Holy Spirit procedes from the Father AND the Son, on that we'll have to agree to disagree.

"It is true he says the words "I absolve you", but if anyone doesn't understand that the absolution is granted by God then they are poorly catechized. All sin is against God, forgiveness can only come from God."

That's not the point. The question is whether the sacrament "creates" grace which is then imparted by The Church in the person of the priest or if the grace is uncreated as an essence of God and flows through the sacrament in the presence of the priest. Notions of created grace, like the impression created by the near absence of an epiklesis in certain Latin Rite liturgies, make sacraments into magic and priests into magicians.

"Now, as to whether the Holy Spirit procedes from the Father AND the Son, on that we'll have to agree to disagree."

Your theologians have determined that the Creed without the filioque innovation is "normative" and should be the prefered wording used for catchesis purposes. There may be those who still think the filioque is theologically correct as traditionally taught, but I suspect that they are few and far between. That said, because of the official explanation which the Latin Church now gives for the filioque, it is no longer proper to call it heretical, or so your hierarchs and mine have determined, which is good enough for me. The Eastern Rite Churches in communion with Rome, save perhaps for the Maronites, do not use the filioque.

Present form:
"God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

"Traditional" form:
Absolution: "Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat; et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo ab omni vinculo excommunicationis (sespensionis) et interdicti in quantum possum et tu indiges. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Deinde, ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."

Translation: "May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication and interdict, so far as my power allows and your needs require. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Thereupon, I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen."

Post-absolution prayer: "Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi, merita Beatae Mariae Virginis et omnium sanctorum, quidquid boni feceris vel mail sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem peccatorum, augmentum gratiae et praemium vitae aeternae."

Translation: "May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints obtain for you that whatever good you do or whatever evil you bear might merit for you the remission of your sins, the increase of grace and the reward of everlasting life."

I don't see how either form suggests that "Grace" is created.

"I don't see how either form suggests that "Grace" is created."

After Great Lent, and since this seems to come up from time to time, I'll post a C/O caucus thread about the created/uncreated grace issue so we can get into it in detail. The issue is with the "Absolvo te" and and that absolution is from the Church. The words of absolution in confession are just a single example. Really the apparent lack of an epiklesis in some Latin Rite Liturgies is a better example of what I am talking about as is the Latin "Treasury of Merit" concept. Let's discuss all of this after Pascha. It will be interesting if a bit arcane.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.