A young priest has spoken of his concern at the growing numbers of young people breaking down in the confessional box because they are unable to cope with life. Fr John Walsh, OP with the Dominican Order, says he is regularly faced with young men in their late teens and early 20s who become inconsolable once they are in the safety of the confessional.
"Their honesty is frightening. It really shakes us up. I see a lot of sorrow and sadness, young people not being able to cope and they have to release it somewhere. I ask them if they're happy and they say yes. And then I ask them if they are really happy and they say no and they don't know what it is they're looking for," the priest said.
Fr Walsh, who described the confessional box as "a place of tears" for many young people, said: "I've honestly never experienced so many tears before. They are so relieved when they get rid of things that have been burdening them down."
The 27-year-old priest, who is based in the Newbridge Dominican priory in Kildare, explains how many young people suffer from deep discontentment despite having all the material wealth they could ask for.
"They have everything but they're so empty inside. That's why they need clothes, drugs, money and all these material things to try and make themselves happy but all of those things disappear very quickly and they're left feeling very hollow," he said.
Fr Walsh, who trained for the priesthood in the National University of Ireland Maynooth and in Oxford, says he has become accustomed to seeing young people coming in to the confessional box with huge burdens on their shoulders.
"I always know by their face when they come in to me. It's almost distorted from the emotion they're keeping bottled up inside.
"It's mostly young fellas. An awful lot of males would break down when they're talking to you. The highest suicide rate in this country is among males in their 20s and I can see why. Sometimes they'd stay for up to half an hour. I see a side of a generation that no one else sees and I know what's really going on inside of their heads."
Speaking about the emotional state of some of the young men who visit him, he says: "Some of them would be utterly inconsolable. It's usually lads from about 18 years old, onwards. Talking to someone who they know they can trust and feeling confident that it will go no further, it just seems to trigger emotions and it all just rushes out, an outpouring of emotion, where they'd literally end up crying on your shoulder."
And he voiced his concerns over the immense pressures put on young people to excel in various fields.
"The pressures on young people today are huge. They have to get into college, they have to have a good job, they're constantly worrying about tomorrow and what the future is going to bring. They tell you they have everything they could want but deep down they're not happy.
"They come in with tunnel vision, where they can't see any way forward and they're carrying around these huge burdens on their shoulders. People don't seem to forgive anymore, they don't seem to trust each other and that all contributes to this feeling of emptiness. When they feel forgiven, that's when the burden is lifted."
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