The dread, damp palms and anxiety may still be there, but Catholic confession has moved out of the dark, creaky booth where a priest listened to penitents and then meted out penalties to every last sinner to show up.
The confessional box has largely given way to a lighted room where priest and penitent can gaze into each other’s eyes and have a private conversation about lapses in holy living. That’s especially true in Arizona, where Catholic churches tend to be newer.
Or sinners can still anonymously recount their wrongs kneeling behind a screen on a table in a well-lighted room, uttering the traditional words, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned” and noting the date of the last confession. Largely gone is the dark confessional booth, tagged the “sin box,” with a kneeler and demarcating shuttered divider between the two parties.
Also gone are the long lines of penitents who humbly spill out their venial and mortal offenses to God through a priest who is forbidden from repeating them to anyone.
Personally I prefer the older confessionals to "reconciliation rooms" and especially the type displayed in the picture. I have never seen one setup like that, but it seems rather problematic to me. For one I guess you would have to approach this confessional cubicle from a specific angle to retain the canonical right of the individual penitent to remain anonymous. The other problem I would see is that a traditional confessional or a dedicated room would at least act as a baffle to help to prevent people from overhearing your confession. An open confessional would require awaiting penetents to stand much further away to avoid this problem.
Now of course compared to what happens during this amazing sacrament the furniture involved in facilitating it is of no consequence. Though I think we need a visual indicator that the sacrament of confession isn’t something mundane, but something quite exceptional. What could be more exceptional than forgiveness of sins when we truly repent?
I have also always wondered how someone who is forced to make an appointment for confession retains there canonical rights to anonymity? Would you have to give a false name and then say you will meet the priest in the confessional at a certain time? Would you have to confess to giving a false name?
On the light side the confessional pictured looks like it would make for a really challenging game of ping pong.
44 comments
Good point on making appointments to go to confession. It’s too complicated.
“Father, I am a sinner in need of confession. Are you able to meet me? …. Good. Yes, I’ll be wearing a red ski mask and a blue hooded sweatshirt. … My codename? Oh, um, how about Sin-meister?”
Worse yet, the office staff might recognize the voice and that’s worse than someone overhearing a confession. There’s nothing in Canon Law to prevent them from tittering to each other, “It’s her/him again!”
How about giving out frequent-confession loyalty cards where you get a stamp for each confession and after 10 you get a special blessing?
Anyway, most “confessional rooms” let you enter into what appears to be a traditional confession booth but you are free to walk around the screen and have face-to-face.
Well, I like larger reconciliation rooms because wheechairs fit inside them. I generally have to make appointments to confess because I can’t get through the door of the traditional confessional.
And yes, it definitely stifles the desire for frequent confession to have to jump through such hoops. I suppose it is very good to humble my soul, but mostly I just see it as a pain.
(And although I try to stay “behind the screen,” I know perfectly well the priest knows who I am. Only a few parishioners are motorized….)
eeeww, i don’t like that either. our confessional is a small room with a divider but it’s a small room and one can still remain anonymous. I have never been in a real “sin box”.
Its nice to have the choice, but it definitely needs to be done in a small private room so that their is never anyone watching or listening. I have been to reconciliation services where Confession is done open air in a corner and you always have to wonder how good the others can hear.
So if it is from Dilbert would you have the ‘Pointy Haired Penitent’?
I have never liked the term Reconciliation myself. Makes me feel like I should be balancing my checkbook. Confession is so much better and even non-Catholics know what you are talking about.
As for ‘Reconciliation Room’, Pahleeezzze! This is a place for a Sacrament people. Try ‘Confessional Chapel’.
During Lent, we had the Mass of Reconciliation at my church. In addition to “general absolution,” we were told we had to confess “one sin” to an individual confessor. Several retired priests were recruited for this purpose, and chairs were set up near the altar. So much for privacy.
Spiritually pulling out a thick wallet of sins, I selected one that I thought wouldn’t curl Father’s hair (or what was left of it): impatience. Lucky me, I got a priest who was hard of hearing. He thought I said “impotence” (I am female) and blurted it out for all to hear.
I felt like crawling back to my pew on all fours. (Maybe that was my penance?) And you wonder why people don’t go to confession any more!
I like the sin-box. I go to parishes other then my own for confession, and I like to be out of sight of the priest. God can see me, and thats all that matters, really. And I am there to beg forgivness of God for the sins staining my soul, not to have a pleasure talk to Father. And I feel so much better comming out into the light of Christ.
I grew up with the older confessionals. They did add a sense of mystery aned specialness to what happens. the new ones can feel like an office meeting. On the other hand face-to-face can do wonders for humility.
I do wonder about the “meted out penalties” line in the article. Sort of misses the point.
In some Orthodox churches it’s done this way:
the penitent faces an icon of Christ and a podium, on which is placed a book of the Gospels and a cross. The priest stands beside the penitent.
Hey, at least there is the opportunity for non face-to-face confession. I’ve accidentally been in some confessionals where there isn’t the opportunity to kneel!
At least the confessional in the picture still uses a grille of some sorts. Still better than confessing face-to-face.
I like to look my confessor in the eye. When his eyebrows perk up I know I did something really bad.
In India, in our little village church, only a little curtain separates a setup like the one in your picture from the congregation hearing Mass. It’s quite impossible to keep *interested* people outside from eavesdropping.
I’ve also sat beside the priest on a bench in Egypt.
Ping-pong? What about Battleship?
You ought to try the ones in Mexican cathedrals. They are wooden stalls out in the open. The priest is in the stall; you kneel alongside and say your confession through a grille. Everyone can see you. Personally, I prefer the confessionals of my youth, with the priest inside a small cubicle that has grilles on each side. You step into the box, a slider on the grille opens, you say your confession, and when you are done, the slider shuts.
I have only been to a “sin box” in St. Peter’s. I prefer to be completely anonymous UNLESS I actually was able to always go to the same priest and had a regular confessor. I think if I was actually able to go to a regular confessor it might benefit me more for him to be able to give specific advice for me knowing who I was. Of course, it is not always easy to have a regular confessor anymore.
I must be the only person who actually prefers face to face confession. I can’t stand not being able to see the priest who I am confessing to.
That said, I will use the anonymous confessional if there is no choice, but I would rather have the choice.
The parish I grew up in has good ol’ fashioned confessionals with a grille and you can’t see the priest and he can’t see you. Anonimity maintained. The line-ups are really long. . . confessions, though scheduled for an hour on Saturdays sometimes are heard for three hours. Confessions are also heard before morning Mass every day and there are always people in line. I think this is a good thing.
The parish I go to now (because I’m away at university) doesn’t have confessionials or any kind of room for confessions. Confessions are supposedly heard after Saturday morning Mass. Fr. hears the confessions in his office and you have to go knock on the door and ask him if he’d be willing to hear your confession (he’s usually sitting there checking his e-mail. . .). There is no option. It’s face to face or no confession. No anonimity there.
I personally don’t mind face to face if it’s with a priest who knows me well, but we should always at least have the choice of anonimity.
I don’t think its such a big deal really, whether its a ‘sin box’ or a ‘reconciliation room’. I have seen pictures of St John Bosco in the oratory, surrounded by boys, one of whom is kneeling next to a chair whispering his confession into the ear of the Saint, while boys around him are kneeling & praying and apparently waiting their turn to confess.
The point is to get to the Sacrament.
I am curious, just where do you find in Canon Law or the Liturgical Ritual the ‘right to anonymity’ for the penitent in Confession? The grill with no hiding curtain was added for the confessions of women only (there is some vagueness as to whether it is to protect the woman from the priest or the priest from the woman confessing). As someone mentioned in the Roman Basilicas the men normally go face to face kneeling in front of the confessional, it is only the women who go to the sides with the grills. When confessionals were ‘invented’ in Milan by St. Charles Barromeo after the Council of Trent, there were certainly no doors on them (though there is even today some wonderful Baroque carvings of Saints and Virtures, etc) — only the sides with the open grills for the women, and the men directly in front of the priest. The hiding curtain was perhaps a protection against disease, or oders, but not for anonymityy
Please excuse the ‘typos’ in my last post. It is Virtues, odors, anonymity — that I meant the preview and post functions got away from me before I could correct those words.
Like Mary Martha, I also prefer to go face to face. It helps me realize I am speaking to Christ. Yes, the priest recognizes me, but I try to get past that.
“The confessor is not the master of God’s forgiveness but its servant.” CCC 1466 I have generally found in my diocese that priests approach this sacrament with that kind of humility, and going face to face allows me to more fully experience God’s forgiveness and love.
One is entitled to confess in a manner that he is anonymous to the priest, but there’s nothing about your confessing being unseen by anyone. What perhaps people are thinking of is the priest’s absolute duty not to reveal anything; I take that to mean I don’t reveal someone even came — and I think most priests take it that way, too. Why should I tell anyone that so-and-so came to confession?
I don’t understand the hostility exhibited above to confession by appointment; surely no one objects to this being offered? I agree that a parish should have set times; but I offer “by appointment” for those who may not be able to come during those times, but even more, to let people know they needn’t wait until then. A priest is bound to hear confessions on request, within reason.
Being a new Catholic I’ve only been to confession twice. We had a close relationship to the priest when we came into the church and I did not mind at all the face to face confession.
Since he has been moved to another parish I haven’t yet been to confession with either of our newer priests…just haven’t been able to work up the nerve I guess.
Our confessionals have kneelers with a screen right beside the door or, if preferred, there is a chair around the corner to sit face to face with the priest. The rooms are very small but the walls are VERY well padded.
As amazing as I’ve thought this sacrament is I was also kind of surprised that our parish (a rather large one) only has confession for 1 hour on Saturday. It is scheduled right before Saturday evening mass so there is no opportunity to extend the time.
There is a church downtown that offers confession daily and I may just go down there until I get used to our new priests.
Thanks Fr Martin.
We do get caught up in the externals sometimes.
I guess this is the most relevant canon:
Can. 964 �1 The proper place for hearing sacramental confessions is a church or oratory.
�2 As far as the confessional is concerned, norms are to be issued by the Episcopal Conference, with the proviso however that confessionals, which the faithful who so wish may freely use, are located in an open place, and fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent and the confessor.
�3 Except for a just reason, confessions are not to be heard elsewhere than in a confessional.
If I understand correctly, in Section 3, “Except for a just reason” is a light restriction. It could be much stricter, e.g. “except for a grave reason.” There could be a lot of reasons that qualify as just.
What I’m not sure about is “open place” and “fixed grille.” Sounds like anonymity before the priest, but visible. Is that right?
Katherine,
If you go to a particular priest often enough, he doesn’t need to see you. He can recognize your voice.
The first time I had been to a priest often enough and he started talking to me as if he knew who I was, I was taken aback. Then I’d do things like take my shoes off (I’m female) when approaching the confessional to try to fool him. One time I thought I’d fool him because I had really bad laryngitis and I could barely talk. There was a screen in between us. He knew who I was anyway.
He’s now my spiritual director.
Now I don’t worry about it. But I much prefer screens or sin boxes to face to face.
One problem with ‘and by appointment’ is that it is often used as an out for an innadequate amount of scheduled Confession time. Think: “Confessions Sat. 4:00-4:15 pm and by appointment”.
I went to confession “by appointment” twice. The first time, in the summer, the priest showed up in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip flops. I am normally not a stickler for things like clothing… but even in my rebellious youth I was somewhat taken aback. (He did put on the proper um.. I forget the word..for the neck garment.)
The second time, many years later, I met the priest at the rectory and rendered my tearful confession of a rather, uh, personal nature. I was somewhat uncomfortable talking to the priest alone in the recotry (although I think he is very trustworthy) BUT even worse for me was seeing him not five minutes aftrerward, as I stood in the parking lot, escorting some other gentlemen out of the place! That was creepy! I have always wondered where those guys were while I was confessing!
I have nothing against confession by appointment. In fact, I go to confession by appointment — with a regular spiritual director who happens to be a family friend. But I have a problem if the confessions are *only* by appointment. A person with a mortal sin should not have to scrounge around for a priest who’s free when he happens to also be free.
No surprise, as a traditional Catholic, a prefer the traditional confessional — especially with efficient ones with a sinner on each side of the priest. Even if you couldn’t hear what Father was saying to the other penitent, you could hear the little door slide shut which gave you an instant to be alert before he opened the slide on your side. As for the picture, barring my death bed, I don’t think I could confess my sins without being on my knees.
One problem with ‘and by appointment’ is that it is often used as an out for an innadequate amount of scheduled Confession time. Think: “Confessions Sat. 4:00-4:15 pm and by appointment”.
Yes, 15 minutes a week–it happens!
At my parish they schedule confessions 15 times a week. They have a good idea, not to publish a “closing” time. The priest shows up and shreves whoever comes. If no one comes, the priest goes.
My problem with the ‘by appointment’ is twofold.
First, good luck getting an appointment with a priest. Virtually impossible with priests who are so very overworked as it is.
Second, for me knowing I can go to confession prior to Mass is great. The open invitation to confess as it were. The gap in time between making the appointment and then making the confession (days in the last case I tried to make an appt) is hard.
One of the biggest advantages of the confessional hasn’t been mentioned yet–they protect priests from baseless charges. An older style confessional, which separates the priest from the penitent, should be preferred for that reason if none other. No one can possibly make the claim that impropriety has taken place if the priest is separated from the penitent by a wall.
If I were I priest, there ain’t no way I’d be getting into rooms alone with people in these days–especially alone with kids. One always has to be sure to safeguard against wild accusations. Let’s give priests the protection they deserve–let’s get back to confessionals.
Funny, nobody thinks about risk management in this. Having a confessional where the priest and penitent are separated like many “old fashioned” confessionals is safer for both the priest and the penitent. According to most diocesan standards of risk management, it would violate their policies to allow a child to walk into a room and be alone with a priest. I’m not saying a priest would do anything, but many diocese have strict policies about parish workers (which would include the priest) being alone in a room with a minor.
The “separate room” setup protects both parties.
Who ever heard of a sin box? I’ve only heard of a confessional or confessional booth.
Much about externals. When it comes to confession — just go!
The practice of the first Saturday of the month for our family is a good habit. Dad leads the way. Afterward, lots of hugs and commitment to do better.
Plus, you don’t forget stuff when you go alot.
Plus, plus, you get a spiritual adivsor (albeit abreviated) when you go frequently to the same priest.
Plus, plus, plus, you live a better life when you examine your conscience more often.
Plus, plus,plus,plus, when you go to receive Holy Communion, you’re sure you’re in a state of grace.
I’ve not heard the confessioanl called a “sin box” either. Probably a local thing.
I imagine “sin box” is (possibly derogatory) slang the author picked up somewhere along the line.
I’m sure it’s only pride that makes me prefer confessional set-ups where eye-contact is completely impossible! If I take off my glasses I can’t see anything at all, happily. Or unhappily. Hmmm.
I’m not sure why anonymity is such a big deal. Doesn’t it help the priest to know your state of life and stuff? I’m sure my priest knows my voice (and the grille has biggish holes) – not that many young women in the parish, alas!
I know of a parish with a similar setup for confession. The two differences are, one, you can’t see the priest as you walk in, but, two, Father is very friendly, and opens the door for you to come in and escorts you out when you are done (while scanning the line)! So much for anyone’s anonymity!
Hi. In my parish, there are confessions with a fixed timetable every week day, in confessionals (in the church lateral aisles). These confessionals are in such way that the priest is in an open, small place, but the faithful can choose to go to a closed mini-room beside the priest (where (s)he confesses unseen) or to kneel in front of the priest, visible to everyone in the aisle. There are also confessions by appointment. I have gone to both kinds, and I never confess unseen (I always confess kneeling, though). I find it comforting to confess seeing other people go to confession too (we are all sinners, so it is comforting to see my brothers and sisters in faith go with me), but I have confessed by appointment by several reasons: because I have a spiritual director who knows my story, which can be important to assess the seriousness of sins and to help me, and also because it has happened that I needed to go to Confession as soon as possible, for a serious reason. The priest heard me in Confession after dinnertime, for which I am grateful.
In my parish, we have confession three times daily, and more on wednesdays, saturdays, and sundays. Also, we use the “sin boxes” (though I’ve never heard them called that). In fact, almost every parish I’ve been to in California has had the same kind of confessionals as we have, the boxes where the confessor sits in the middle. Perhaps I just find myself at the more traditional parishes, but I only rarely encounter a “reconciliation room”, and usually those are only at the most liberal of parishes.
I am forbidden to goto Confession in my own parish, although the pastor won’t tell me why. I am equally at ease with or without a grill, but prefer the latter: in the military we took care of our spiritual needs in whatever circumstances available. Our parish church has four traditional confessionals that have been converted to allow for face-to-face or anonymous confession. We have three priests who hear confessions about 45 minutes each per week. The pastor lounges on a folding chair in front of or beside the altar, often without (psst! it’s called) a stole, cassock and never a clerical collar. Maybe using a confessional per Canon Law gives him claustrophobia?
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