Catholic Sensibility

Take Sin For Example

Liam and John are having a good discussion below on confession. Feel free to join in; the more the merrier. I'd like to branch off from that discussion on the general sense of sin: how it may be lacking, who provides bad examples for it, how priests may or may not encourage sacramental confession, how it might be well or poorly compared to practice before the council, and how well the reform of the Rite of Penance may have been handled. 1. I do think there's a lightened sense of guilt among Catholics. Guilt and sin, however, are two somewhat different animals. If I had a choice between a sense of guilt and a sense of sin, I'd take the latter. Most of us probably would. The former might include a sense of guilt for situations for which we might not be culpable. It's possible "devotional" confessions include some of that. The few priests I've spoken with about confession seem to have a low opinion of what some penitents bring to the sacrament, and most of that is a misplaced sense of guilt masquerading (or replacing) a sense of sin. 2. I certainly think there's a loss of responsibility in society and in the Church. I wouldn't confine this to the laity alone. Clergy and bishops, whether they realize it or not, are part of the problem. The handling of the sex abuse crisis has done grave harm to the credibility of bishops. Evasive administration, be it in the name of legal protection, ignorance, or whatever, seriously impairs the bishops' example of penitence. The sacrament of penance is gravely harmed when reports surface of serial abusers going to confession over and over again. A penitent must make a sincere act of contrition. A serial sinner clearly needs something more than magical absolution. The sacrament, for a few significant cases has been a means of reinforcing sinful behavior, not a sacramental means of forgiveness. 3. Most parish priests, especially liberals and neo-orthodox clergy, have little idea of how to promote a renewal of the sacrament in their parishes. The reformed rite calls for the cultivation of the sacrament in parishes. Most clergy are going through the motions: either preaching from the pulpit and scheduling hours in accord to what the parishioners need. Or they're supplementing form I with occasional forays into form II. In my mind, the numbers don't add up. Even if priests were successful in developing good practices for the sacrament, they would need to reallocate vast amounts of time to hear the confessions they might hope to get. What would a good celebration of form I entail? The Rite of Penance presumes Scripture. I'd think five minutes would be speedy, perhaps a liturgical abuse. But let's take it. In a parish of 500 households, at five minutes per confession, a confessor could reconcile 1500 sinners in 120 hours. How often should one make a good confession? If monthly, you're talking 25-30 hours a week. Trim it back to the 1/3 who attend Mass on any given weekend, and we're at a more manageable 8-10 hours a week. 4. Who knows if Catholics were better at non-devotional confession before the Council? If we're talking warm bodies in confessionals, 1960 has it all over 2006. On the other hand, that was the only form for the rite: nothing communal, and very few appointments. 5. Maybe we have to face the possibility that further reform and renewal is needed in the sacrament. Society might be ready for it. We have 12 Step programs all over the place that encourage a thorough examination of conscience and a frequent return to said examination as needed. More than half the steps touch on some aspect of taking personal stock, taking responsibility, confessing to another human being, making amends, and maintaining personal health. If Catholics are as bad off as some suggest, the 12-Step groups have eclipsed us. I think there are serious questions concerning how schools and Religious Ed programs handle the sacrament. I think enough adults are adrift and would prefer to take their chances rather than be embarassed in returning to the practice without knowing for sure what to do. Liam and John were critical about confession by appointment, but I can see how that might be very beneficial to someone who wants to come in, chat about the expectations of the rite before taking the plunge directly. And lastly, ten, twenty years of form III was not enough time to assess if it was working as part of the sacramental picture. Form III is ideally suited to devotional confessions. If a parish offered it monthly, it might well inspire more people to take advantage of forms I and II. Enough for tonight. Discuss, if you wish.