He needs to make it 25
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- L'Osservatore Romano criticized a report published by an Italian weekly in which a journalist pretended he was a penitent in order to test priestly advice in the confessional.
The Vatican's semiofficial newspaper analyzed the article published in L'Expresso, calling the latter's report an "ignoble 'scoop.'"
A reporter for L'Expresso went to confessionals in 24 churches in Turin, Milan, Rome, Naples and Palermo, to confess invented sins and to compare the priests' answers on ethical questions such as euthanasia, drugs, prostitution, embezzlement and pederasty.
L'Osservatore Romano lamented: "To offend the religious sentiment of believers, to deceive the good faith of priests, gravely injuring the inviolable character of pastoral ministry, profaning a sacrament: All this was achieved by the 'courageous' investigation of a journalist of the well-known weekly."
The newspaper added that it is an offense for "all those who believe in the sacrament of reconciliation."
[Via Alive and Young]
Known as 
just goes to show you that absolutely nothing is sacred anymore. how sad.
Don't think I'm making light of this by the analogy, but this reminds me of a recent plot on Ugly Betty.
In order to write a magazine article, a woman seduced a man, made him fall in love with her, and wangled a proposal.
A profound sacramental reality (of which married love is an example,) is mocked when one of the participants is play-acting.
The Mystical Body of Christ is mocked.
God is mocked.
Horrible, simply horrible.
I could imagine a clueless, non-Catholic, young American with too many reality shows under his belt doing this...Maybe some already have but have not been so "courageous" as to publicize the results.
God is mocked. God is not fooled, however...and it wouldn't be beyond the imagination to see the Good Shepherd using just such situations to "go after the one".Who knows the future effects of today's "pretend" Confessions?
Nothing has ever been sacred. Did the Nazis or Communists respect the seal of the confessional? Only 11 years ago, law enforcement in Eugene, Oregon thought nothing about violating the seal by secretly recording a prisoner's confession to a priest and then trying to use the results in court. Since then, several states have proposed legislation that would purport to require priests to violate the seal to report child abuse.
Will Satan ever give up his war on the sacrament that saves so many souls from his clutches?
Ugh. That is disgusting. Next thing, they'll be trying to make a reality TV show about the confessional...or something...
Why are journalists allowed to live?
This is gross. A sacrilege.
And yet--it is a little crazy that priests are ordained...and then left alone to do almost whatever they want for the rest of their lives.
Dioceses have mandatory in-service days for priests, I would think. But really, there is a lot of bad advice being given in the confessionals, and bad preaching, and no one is going to say anything. I wish we had a stronger sense of the need for ongoing training for working priests.
Unless gifted with the rare ability to read hearts like Padre Pio, priests generally take it on good faith that the person making the confession is actually PENITENT.
You maybe have lived your entire life without committing great, utterly evil soul-rending offenses to God but I have not. The sacrament has always been there for me and for that I hope to be eternally grateful.
It is not a McDonald's for crying out loud! You can not choose not to go just because you have a customer service grievance.
The mentality of the reporter shows an utter disregard for the supernatural and total ignorance of the sacred.
I still can't find a report that says whether the journalist was Catholic or not. Can't help wondering why s'one would do this, ie, whom was he challenging, really?
This reminds me of a recent local event in which a young woman dismembered statues at a shrine to, as she reported, "decorate her room". Her reasons and her lack of repentance were so shocking that there was a hint of Christ's scandalous love in the crime...so much so that there was a subsequent undeniable urge to pray for the woman's soul. Somehow, I knew that the soul of a single sheep was important enough that Jesus would allow this one to destroy every statue if that's what it would take for her to accept His Love. It was obvious that she needed Him terribly. The worst tragedy is when He is crucified and then IGNORED by the very people He suffered for.