Internet Confessions

[Pontifite 7 of 10]

Do you think sins can be forgiven in a confession over the internet?

[Resurrexi]

OF course not.

[Groo the Wanderer]

No need for debate. The answer is no.


One thing to remember is the sanctity of the confessional. I can guarantee ya - NOTHING is truly private or confidential on the iNet.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Looked into this back when I was looking for an easy way out. The answer, of course, is no.

[Maggyie]

I know the answer is Nah... don't know the exact theological reason why it is Nah...

[jckinsman]

NO WAY! If they can't be done over the phone they can't be done over the internet! How do you know its even a TRUE PRIEST!???? JC

[kateri05]

"laying on of hands" is part of the sacrament. no good on the phone/internet/etc

[Aloysius]

just to add a dynamic to this debate:

can sins be confessed over such a mode of communication, and then absolved in person? for instance, say some brillian priest came up with the idea of making confession more accessable and offered the oppurtunity of people emailing them a list of their sins; then advice is emailed as needed and at a specific time they come to receive absolution.

it may open itself to abuses and make it unwise in some ways, but it would seem to me that such a system would make for a valid sacrament.

[Aloysius]

[quote name='kateri05' post='1255879' date='Apr 25 2007, 01:13 AM']"laying on of hands" is part of the sacrament. no good on the phone/internet/etc [/quote]
if that were true I'd have not made a valid confession in my life.

it's more of the presence than the hands; the priest has had hands laid on him, and by extension has been breathed upon by Christ. his presence is necessary to absolve, but not physical contact.

[Guest Evanescence]

[color="#0000FF"]I say...
It's about time you get off your computer and go outside once in a while.

A better reason would be... there would be a risk of breaking the sacred seal of confession over the internet (since nothing is completely secure) as well as non Catholics having a joke out of it and abusing the system on the internet (you wouldn't know who it really is on the other end).

Evanescence
[/color]

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

[quote name='Aloysius' post='1255884' date='Apr 25 2007, 12:26 AM']just to add a dynamic to this debate:

can sins be confessed over such a mode of communication, and then absolved in person? for instance, say some brillian priest came up with the idea of making confession more accessable and offered the oppurtunity of people emailing them a list of their sins; then advice is emailed as needed and at a specific time they come to receive absolution.

it may open itself to abuses and make it unwise in some ways, but it would seem to me that such a system would make for a valid sacrament.[/quote]
An opinion:
I think there is a dimension to in-person confession (way the person sounds, movements, etc.) that would be lost that could give the priest better insight as to the person's struggles. There is no emotion, crying, or the like in an email either. Would kill the sacrament!

[thessalonian]

The Church has said that confession must be auricular (voice must be given to sins) and it must be personal (so the telephone has already been ruled out. The answer is no and it will not change I am certain.

[Katholikos]

The Church says the priest and the penitent must be present to each another. Period. Any opinions to the contrary are null and void. The Church's teaching is final. A priest can hear confessions only when he has faculties to do so from a bishop. Ain't gonna happen.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='thessalonian' post='1256016' date='Apr 25 2007, 09:02 AM']The Church has said that confession must be auricular (voice must be given to sins) and it must be personal (so the telephone has already been ruled out. The answer is no and it will not change I am certain.[/quote]
Yes.


I think, too, that there is something really powerful in the spoken word when it comes to dealing with sins.

[N/A Gone]

Even the non sacramental aspect, that is the broken openess of confession, would not exist in writing. I can write whatever I want, but i am not as open and exposed as in confession. Now, I drive out of state to a priest that is dear to me in La Crosse. He does not have a confessional booth, but we go into his office close the door and talk, we perform the rite, and we council. Often there are tears, and that is somehting I crave when I go without confession. It is a real edifying and beautfiul thing. Net-confession lacks that.