Posted on 03/02/2010 10:01:50 AM PST by Stoat
A 'pay-to-confess' telephone hotline for Catholics too busy to go to church has been condemned as 'utterly unacceptable' by bishops in France.
The service - called the Phoneline to the Lord - charges users 30p a minute to confess their sins to an automated answering machine.
When the number is called, a soothing male voice says: 'For advice on confessing, press one. To confess, press two. To listen to some confessions, press three.'
But with soft organ music playing in the background, the voice warns: 'In case of serious or mortal sins - that is, sins that have cut you off from Christ our Lord - it is essential to confide in a priest.'
The hotline was set up at the beginning of the Christian fasting period of Lent by Paris-based telephone messaging service AABAS.
Its creator told French news agency AFP she could only give her first name as Camille as she had already received threats about the service from irate Catholics.
She said: 'The idea is to confess sins which are not capital sins, but minor sins, directly to God.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
French church criticises 'confession' phone line
French bishops seek to disconnect the Line of the Lord
Wow! Now that is taking Capitalism WAY too far. As a Catholic, I am saddened by this, but as a business, it is incredible. Some things are too sarcred to tough no matter how inventive it is.
tough = touch
Dang spelling...
NYER you won’t believe this
Figures.
There are many theological arguments against female priests ... I have always found that the best practical argument against ordaining women is found in the character of the women clamouring for ordination.
You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Ping!
By now I would believe anything. Thanks for the ping!
Are we that narrcist as society that we don’t have time go to church anymore
At my local Cathoic church we have services from 7am to 12:30pm on different time then SPanish speaking mass they have twice at 8am and 12:30pm
We have 5pm mass and Vietnamee mass at 6:30 on Saturday
And for the really busy sinner, an automated call in confession to the automatic listener. “Have your machine call my machine” kind of thing.
Recall that Pope Benedict XVI has cautioned everyone about the growth of secularism and the growing trend towards moral relativism (anything goes). Much of Europe has already caved. We need to pray for them, especially now during Lent.
I like the part about dialing to listen to somebody else’s sin. Inquiring minds want to know...
And of course you can call back to confess that you’ve been listening to stuff that is none of your business.
All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means.
Baptism was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam (original sin) and any sins we personally committed before baptism—sins we personally commit are called actual sins, because they come from our own acts.
For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed. It has been called penance, confession, and reconciliation, each word emphasizing one of its.aspects. During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, "the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God "had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8).
Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.
God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)
I can’t imagine confessing my sins to an answering machine, particularly since the tape could end up anywhere.
THe Church I go to offer this including my childhood Cathoic church that few miles away I am attending from
My childhood Cathoic church has same services and same outreach program during the 1970 to help Cathoic Vietname community back in da day
This photo brings to mind a scene from the movie, “The End” starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Dom Deluise and Robby Benson. Reynolds is making a confession to a priest (Robby Benson) and poses the question, “Is whacking off still a sin, Father.” “Ah yes,” replies Benson. “That’s my big sin.”
She's a grifter. Any Catholic worth their salt knows that venial sins do not have to be confessed, although it is recommended, and are indeed forgiven during the Penitential Rite during Mass.
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