Confession over phone?
Submitted by joy on Wed, 07/29/2009 - 16:04.
Let me share to you a question asked, is it okey to make a confession over the phone? This specific person prefers to confess to a friend priest which can only be reached through phone. Is it possible to do so without losing the grace received in the sacrament of confession?
Small World Getting Smaller
The world we are living now is getting smaller. Almost every part of the world is already discovered. Going to the other side of the world is just like getting over the fence of our neighbor. We live in a world without borders!
Gone are the days of messages in the bottle and snail mails. What we have now are faster and hi tech means of communications.
IMHO, people will always have time going to other places and they are willing to spend fortunes just to do so. Now, how on earth is it difficult for us to attend mass? Is watching a Mass on a TV set the same as going to a Mass in a Church? Is kissing someone over the phone the same as the real kiss?Same as with confession, I believe that confession is a sacrament and needs to be recieved personally. Maybe counseling can be done over the phone but not in the case of confession.
P.S. Your friend can always find other priests nearby. =)
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good
i really agree to your comment...development of anything is deffinitely good...but not to the extent that it can already affect our belifs.
Confession over phone
I am tempted to be technical about this question. However, I continue to believe God's grace will transcend any hindrance to it's effectiveness. If a person's desire and act are done in faith, then I believe he shall receive the grace in the sacrament of confession.
hello
i just want to share my opinion in respond to your statement regarding confession over phone. i think and i believe that the essence and grace of the confession can only be achieve through little sacrifice e.g. looking for a priest for confession is a great sacrifice already, rather than just using phone. and if ever it would be happen other sacraments can be possibly technologically practiced also e.g. anointing of the sick, baptism and etc...in that sense are you willing to participate and support in that change or development?
Confession over phone
The Church and the Internet, published by the Pontifical Council on Social Communications on 22 February 2002 and signed by Archbishop John Foley, says:
9. Certain other matters still require much reflection. Regarding
these, we urge continued research and study, including “the development of an
anthropology and a theology of communication” 39—now, with specific
reference to the Internet. Along with study and research, of course, positive
pastoral planning for the use of the Internet can and should go
forward.40
One area for research concerns the suggestion that the wide range
of choices regarding consumer products and services available on the Internet
may have a spillover effect in regard to religion and encourage a ‘consumer'
approach to matters of faith. Data suggest that some visitors to religious web
sites may be on a sort of shopping spree, picking and choosing elements of
customized religious packages to suit their personal tastes. The “tendency on
the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence” to the Church's
teaching is a recognized problem in other contexts;41 more
information is needed about whether and to what extent the problem is
exacerbated by the Internet.
Similarly, as noted above, the virtual reality of cyberspace has
some worrisome implications for religion as well as for other areas of life.
Virtual reality is no substitute for the Real Presence of Christ in the
Eucharist, the sacramental reality of the other sacraments, and shared worship
in a flesh-and-blood human community. There are no sacraments on the Internet;
and even the religious experiences possible there by the grace of God are
insufficient apart from real-world interaction with other persons of faith. Here
is another aspect of the Internet that calls for study and reflection. At the
same time, pastoral planning should consider how to lead people from cyberspace
to true community and how, through teaching and catechesis, the Internet might
subsequently be used to sustain and enrich them in their Christian
commitment.
The part highlighted above is clear about 'internet sacraments': there is no such thing.
The original question is about confessions over the telephone but I think the same thing applies.
Catholic Answers has a reply to a similar query in which it refers to The Church and the Internet and gives the quotation above:
Q: Why can't priests hear confessions through
electronic media such as telephone, e-mail, or Internet?
A: Confession on the telephone or by
e-mail is not permitted by the Church for a couple of reasons. First, the
sacrament of confession is a personal encounter with Jesus in which he personally addresses every sinner:
"My son, your sins are forgiven." He is the physician tending each
one of the sick who need him to cure them. He raises them up and reintegrates
them into fraternal communion. Personal confession is thus the form most
expressive of reconciliation with God and with the Church. (CCC 1484)
Second, maintaining secrecy is
essential. The "Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is
bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins
that his penitents have confessed to him" (CCC 1467). E-mail, the Internet,
and telephones are never completely private.
The Pontifical Council on Social Communications in
The Church and Internet
says:
Virtual reality is no substitute for
the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sacramental reality of the
other sacraments, and shared worship in a flesh-and-blood human community.
There are no sacraments on the Internet; and even the religious experiences
possible there by the grace of God are insufficient apart from real-world
interaction with other persons of faith. (9)
Thank you Fr Sean
Thank you Fr Sean for posting this on our forum. This kind of question
comes across my mind also. Today that everything seems instant people want an instant
confession by using phone and internet. The answers to the question are stated
very clear. The next time someone might ask same question, I can easily attend
to their doubt. Thank you!
"He who prays never loses hope" - Pope Benedict XVI
on Confession
The first question has to be answered from the point-of-view of pastoral ministry because it is more of a pastoral question rather than an appeal to "what is canonically right?" sort-of-thing in doing confession. Real situation has to be weigh also.
The follow-up question is quite different and can be independent to the first since it asks of effectiveness of God's grace. God's gift of healing in the sacrament of reconciliation is not tight-bound within the four corner of confession box inside the Church. As long as sincere repentance happen, then God's grace is received.
*posted in facebook http://www.facebook.com/mjrile?v=feed&story_fbid=109818808171 on 1 Aug 2009