Saturday, August 27, 2011

Archbishop wants confession centre-stage

Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is leading a campaign to make the Sacrament of Confession central to each of his parishes. 

In a letter to priests seen by The Irish Catholic Archbishop Martin says ''there is no doubt that we need to renew our commitment to this sacrament and to enhance the way it is celebrated in our churches and parishes''.

The Irish Catholic understands that the move is in response to the Vatican's inquiry into the Church in Ireland and comes after concern was expressed by members of the Apostolic Visitation team about the lack of availability of confession in some parishes.

In tandem with his letter the archbishop is carrying out a survey of every parish ''so that we can have a better understanding of the current practice and how it might be renewed''.

The survey document notes that the number of people availing of the Sacrament of Confession is declining sharply both individual confessions and regarding services of penance with individual confessions.

Parish priests are expected to return the questionnaires to the diocese with such information as the number of hours per week the sacrament is available and whether or not confessionals allow for anonymity of penitents by the use of an appropriate screen.

Promote

The document also asks about efforts in parishes to promote the sacrament such as the availability of cards which may help immediate preparation for the sacrament and the use of sacred art or icons in the confessional.

The survey also asks that where penitents wish to confess to the priest face-to-face whether or not both priest and penitent can be clearly seen.

A key query in the document is also the level of catechesis - if any - that is carried out in a parish regarding the sacrament.

Archbishop Martin's survey comes as the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy wrote to the rectors of Catholic shrines around the world urging them to do more to make confessions available.