Pope alarmed by decline in confessions

TimesOnline ^ | 6/19/09 | Richard Owen

[bdeaner]

Pope Benedict XVI has raised the alarm over the decline in confessions, urging priests not to become "resigned to empty confessionals" but rather to help the faithful rediscover "the beauty of the sacrament", which answered "a deep and humble longing for forgiveness".

[Salvation]

Never heard of that before. Terrible.

[Salvation]

**if you don’t need to confess, then you don’t need the Eucharist! **

Right on! Bless you!

[Salvation]

Our pastor has had to ADD times for Confession! LOL! A great demand for it!

[Salvation]

Welcome back to the full Communion. Blessings!

[Salvation]

**It’ll take me all night to complete the sacrament of reconciliation. **

Don’t worry — the priest will be there for you.

[Salvation]

**The amazing thing is that the desire and motivation to stay there was gone! Amazing.”**

That what grace can do.

“A sacrament is outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.” (Remember the old Baltimore Catechism?)

[Salvation]

Wow! A sad story. Prayers for your pastors right now from my lips.

[Salvation]

**gluttony....It’s one of the seven deadly sins.

You are absolutely right.

[Salvation]

Sounds like we will see you being baptized in the Catholic Church some Easter Vigil soon. I join with the priest — come home!

[Salvation]

Examination of Conscience
A Guide for Confession

Why Go to Confession? (Part 1) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
Why Go to Confession? (Part 2) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
How To Make a Good Confession (especially if you haven't gone in years)
Why Go to Confession? (Part 3) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
Pulling Sin up by the Roots: The Need for Mortification

Reasons for Confession [Sacrament of Reconciliation]
Cardinal Stafford's Homily at Penitential Liturgy With an Examination of Conscience
How to Go to Confession
Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession
Learning to Confess

[Salvation]

"Come back to me with all your heart; don't let sin keep us apart."

Catholic Discussion Ping!

Pope alarmed by decline in confessions
Part 2 of 10: Sacrament of Penance, Church’s symbols help explain penance [Catholic Caucus]
Part 1 of 10: Sacrament of Penance, Jesus placed great value on forgiveness [Catholic Caucus]
Confession Questions From the Pew [Catholic Caucus] Introduction to 10 Part Series

Part 1 of 10: Sacrament of Penance, Jesus placed great value on forgiveness [Catholic Caucus]

Beginning Catholic: The Sacrament of Reconciliation: Rising Again to New Life [Ecumenical]
Why do I have to confess my sins to a priest?
Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest instead of praying straight to God? [Ecu]

When did confession to a priest start? [Ecumenical]
Confession, Confession Everywhere (Cardinal Says Youth Day Is Reviving the Sacrament)
In One Church, Confession Makes a Comeback (Catholic Caucus)
Priests should encourage recovery of Sacrament of Reconciliation
A Gift That is Always in Season (Sacrament of Penance) Catholic Caucus

[Sacrament of]Confession
Make a Good Confession
Those in Mortal Sin Can't Go to Communion, Says Pope
Holy Week Recovers Celebration of Penance (at St. Peter's Basilica) - photos!
Reasons for Confession [Sacrament of Reconciliation]

Lesson 19: Confession (Part 1) BY FATHER ALTIER
Lesson 20: Confession (Part 2) BY FATHER ROBERT ALTIER
Serious about God? Then get serious about confession
St. Ephraim the Syrian: On Repentance
What happened to confession – Changing mores reflective of use
Repentance and Confession - Introduction [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

The Spiritual and Psychological Value of Frequent Confession
Pick a sin, any sin (Confession gone awry)
The Early Church Fathers on Confession / Reconciliation - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Catholics called from the idiot box to confession
Benedict XVI Extols Sacrament of Penance - Says Priests Need to Make It a Priority

Confession’s Comeback
Priests say more Catholics returning to confession
Pope Hears Confessions of Youth
MESSAGE FOR ALL CATHOLICS (in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday - April 15)
Salvation: Just click and confess

CONFESSION AND CONFUSION
Get Thee To A Confessional! (beautiful insight for those who dread going to Confession)
Emerging Trends: The Return to the Confessional
Confessing to 'sins' is booming in America (Evangelicals and Protestants take up practice)
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Penance (Reconciliation, Confession) [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

A Comeback for Confession
MORTAL SIN and HOLY CONFESSION - The Antidote of Death
Thinking Inside the Box: An Attitude for Confession
Confessional Advice
The Epidemic and the Cure [The Sin of the World and the Sacrament of Reconciliation] (Confession)

[Tax-chick]

Our pastor has had to ADD times for Confession!

Ours should, too. As I was saying to the poster up the thread, if our parishioners went to Confession on average every 10 weeks, that would be 320 each week. Not going to happen in 1/2 hour that he's not always there for anyhow.

He's an excellent priest in many ways, and very dedicated to visiting the sick, I've heard, but it's awfully hard to get to Confession in my parish!

[kosta50]

Thank you both. I believe the problem is that in the Latin liturgy there is a standard public confession (I don't know the name but it's when people, or at least some of them, pound their chest with their fist), which I believe many take as being equivalent to a confession.

In the Eastern Churches there is also one, equally contrite (and somewhat longer), recited by those who are about to take the Holy Communion, and who are properly prepared (fasted since midnight, prayed, confessed, and received absolution), but never in place of personal confession to the priest.

I must say, regretfully, that in some American Orthodox churches the practice of "mass communion" has crept into the praxis, where whole pews empty out to receive, and when it's obvious that all these people could not have confessed the night before, but are "riding" their last confession over and over, even though the priest always reminds that only (Eastern) Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared may approach the Cup.

[Larry Lucido]

Maybe install an express line. 12 sins or less.....

[Desdemona]

Well, here's a suggestion Do it as it's done in my parish - between Masses on Sunday. The priests hear confessions until the canon of the next Mass. And believe me when I say those lines can get LOONNGGG.

[angelrod]

I can’t tell you the number of times I showed up for confession at my local parish but the priest showed up too close to Mass or didn’t show up at all. I started going to a church in NYC on Wall Street that had confessions daily(!!!) from 8-9 am. I can’t tell you would a wonderful thing it was to have confession that readily available. While I don’t work in NYC anymore, I still haven’t gone to confession at my local parish in awhile.

[Desdemona]

Maybe people figured out they could talk directly to Jesus without an intermediary.

It's more like laziness all the way around and really that's a shame because receiving the sacrament of Penance fills you with a sense of peace unlike anything else.

[Salvation]

I like the idea of adding it between Masses. But we only have one priest.

Time for an assistant with nearly 1200 families.

[lightman]

Thank you both. I believe the problem is that in the Latin liturgy there is a standard public confession (I don't know the name but it's when people, or at least some of them, pound their chest with their fist), which I believe many take as being equivalent to a confession.

This is not only a Roman Catholic problem. At the most recent General Retreat of the Society of the Holy Trinity (a pan-Lutheran Ministerium and Oratory) a paper was presented on the destructive effect upon Private Confession that is wrought by having an order of Confession appended to the Eucharistic liturgy.

www.societyholytrinity.org/2008gr-lehrke.htm

The abstract follows;

Corporate Confession and Forgiveness, although not a historic part of the ordo of the Mass, has after several centuries of use as a preparatory rite, come to be regarded by American Lutherans as an essential preparation for the Sunday liturgy. We need to consider the possibility that this post 16th century addition of another ordinary by which to lead the Sunday assembly to the Word of God is problematic in the celebration of the Gospel. Its use has eroded and supplanted the sacrament of Confession and Absolution, while it also presupposes the Mass, both the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Eucharist. It advances the presumption that the human act of a general confession of sins and sinfulness can secure God's forgiveness, making the Mass virtually irrelevant.

A caveat to any who follow the link: Pr. Lehrke was extremely redundant in this presentation. Excellent points, but once they were made there was no need for repetition ad nauseum.

[VermiciousKnid]

It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, trust me. Go. Now, if you can. You won’t believe how good the Lord’s grace will make you feel. You’ll WANT to be a better person.

Don’t worry if you don’t remember how, or how awful you think you’ve been. Father will help you through it, and Our Lord will forgive all.

Regards and Best Wishes,