An informal survey of clergy based in cathedrals across England and Wales
found that two thirds had noticed an upturn in numbers taking part in the
sacrament, something many of them attributed to a papal “bounce”.
The Church said that the greater willingness by people to “unburden”
themselves and deal “issues” than in the past had also given the centuries
old practice a new relevance for some, including those who might be put off
by public services.
The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said a more informal approach to confession than in the past had also helped draw younger people – including increasing numbers who even attend with a smart phone in one hand, making use of a range of special confession apps to guide them through the process.
He joked that as a child he had been rather less diligent - even making up sins up to get through confession.
The polling of cathedral deans or priests-in-residence found that around a third had seen an increase which they attributed to a combination of the impact of the new Pope and the continuing impact of the Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain three years ago.
Respondents spoke of having to make special arrangements to accommodate extra
demand for confession this summer.
One respondent replied: “Some people are coming in saying I don’t know what to say or do because they haven’t been since they were at school or for 30 years, and are asking for help with the words to say.”
Another said: “This summer there has been a marked difference in demand compared to last summer … We don’t usually offer confessions in August but have done this year.”
Bishop Conry, who is responsible for outreach in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said: “We have found significant numbers of young people have come along to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is a good sign, it means they are connected with church even if sometimes they are not connected with the Eucharistic mass community on a Sunday.
“But it is not just the young people.
“I think it is also a new approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or confession, which is less of a mechanistic process.
"My experience as a youngster was that you went along and recited a list of sins and apparently now a lot of priests will say that in confession they see people with their iPhones there because there is an app that will help them to formulate their confession – 'these are the things I want to bring and unburden myself of' – and they will go through this list of issues.
“In the old days we used to say 'these are my mortal sins, these are my venial sins' but now there is an app that will tell you ‘think about this, this and this’, which is useful.
“I think now people come along less with that mechanistic shopping list, they will talk about issues which they want to bring.
“It is not just therapy and counselling it is in the context of their relationship with God and their relationship with others.
“For many people now it is a much more significant, meaningful, personal experience rather than just a weekly ‘I’ve got to go to confession and think of some sins’.
But he went on to confess: “We used to make them up as kids, we had to say something … it might be ‘I hit someone’ or ‘I kicked the dog’ – if had a dog.
“I would make up anything just to occupy a couple of minutes and get sent away forgiven.”
Asked if making up sins in confession was itself a sin, he said: “Yes probably, you probably committed more sins in there than you committed in the week leading up to it – you were lying your head off.”
One respondent replied: “Some people are coming in saying I don’t know what to say or do because they haven’t been since they were at school or for 30 years, and are asking for help with the words to say.”
Another said: “This summer there has been a marked difference in demand compared to last summer … We don’t usually offer confessions in August but have done this year.”
Bishop Conry, who is responsible for outreach in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said: “We have found significant numbers of young people have come along to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is a good sign, it means they are connected with church even if sometimes they are not connected with the Eucharistic mass community on a Sunday.
“But it is not just the young people.
“I think it is also a new approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or confession, which is less of a mechanistic process.
"My experience as a youngster was that you went along and recited a list of sins and apparently now a lot of priests will say that in confession they see people with their iPhones there because there is an app that will help them to formulate their confession – 'these are the things I want to bring and unburden myself of' – and they will go through this list of issues.
“In the old days we used to say 'these are my mortal sins, these are my venial sins' but now there is an app that will tell you ‘think about this, this and this’, which is useful.
“I think now people come along less with that mechanistic shopping list, they will talk about issues which they want to bring.
“It is not just therapy and counselling it is in the context of their relationship with God and their relationship with others.
“For many people now it is a much more significant, meaningful, personal experience rather than just a weekly ‘I’ve got to go to confession and think of some sins’.
But he went on to confess: “We used to make them up as kids, we had to say something … it might be ‘I hit someone’ or ‘I kicked the dog’ – if had a dog.
“I would make up anything just to occupy a couple of minutes and get sent away forgiven.”
Asked if making up sins in confession was itself a sin, he said: “Yes probably, you probably committed more sins in there than you committed in the week leading up to it – you were lying your head off.”