A trend among Catholics worldwide has the Vatican's attention, and the church plans to address it by a publishing a kind of handbook to drum up more enthusiasm, and in turn, attendance.Many of the faithful no longer are confessing their sins in the confessional booth.
Archbishop Mauro Piacenza told Vatican Radio that the sacrament of penance has been experiencing a "deep crisis" for decades, and some are confusing a psychologist's couch for a confessional booth.
Piacenza also lamented that fewer people distinguish between good and evil and, as a result, don't go to confession, The Associated Press reported.
Monsignor Paul Enke, of St. Edward's Catholic Church in Granville, agrees with that evaluation and explains that fewer people have the need to express that sorrow for sin sacramentally. It's a societal thing, he explains, because when he was a kid, the norm was for most Catholics to go to confession at least every couple of weeks.
Now many Catholics have not been to confession for more than a year, he said. He also attributes the decline to the lower number of priests.
"In this country and most of Western Europe, the practice of auricular confession is limping along," Enke said. "Over the last 30 years, there has certainly been a decline in practice."
There still are two times a year that attract people to confessions: Advent and Lent. During those services, a number of priests will help hear all the confessions immediately after the service.
"Confessions are good for the soul," Enke said. "It's a way to return to God with all of our heart. It is when we recognize we have failed to hit the mark."
At Blessed Sacrament Church in Newark, Father Jonathan Wilson recently added another confessional time on Tuesday evening in addition to every Saturday. He realizes the weekend is not always the most convenient time and added the Tuesday to be more accommodating.
He promotes the sacrament of confession through his preaching and instruction in the schools.
"The decline in sacrament didn't happen overnight, and a return to this practice won't happen overnight," Wilson said. "Confession is a wonderful opportunity to receive God's great gift of mercy."
But will confessions disappear completely?
"I think it will always be a practice of the Catholic Church, but the contemporary culture doesn't seem to be convinced of the necessity of it," Enke said.
For Wilson, he is looking forward to the future publication by the Vatican.
"The handbook will be a powerful reaffirmation of the importance of the sacrament of confession and a practical guide for Catholics to use," Wilson said.
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Source (AP)
SV (ED)