Confession 2.0

I saw an article today on cnn.com about the rise of online confession sites where people can anonymously post their sins. Many of these sites are run by large churches, but often have no clergy or counselor staff, or even have any way to reply to the confessions. It makes me rather sad, actually.

I understand that in the Catholic church, attendance for confession is down to an all-time low, around 25%. I think, however, this seems like simply patching the leak, rather then addressing the problem. What's wrong with the online confessionals? Many things. Firstly, it encourages a sense of voyeurism and exhibitionism. Who needs to read the deeply personal confessions of others? The majority of them are sexual in nature, but they run the gamut of human depravity. Extra-marital affairs, drugs, self-harm, theft, and even murder. On ivescrewedup, one widely quoted confession talks about killing 4 people, one of them a 17 year old boy who died for his country (most people believe it was a soldier confessing).

I think I'm with the Catholic church on this one. These confessional sites are too voyeuristic and impersonal to be true to the sense of penitence that the office was designed for. The point of confession is that we make our sins known to God. For Catholics, this entails Confession. For other Christians, this involves prayer, and maybe accountability partners. Internet confession seems like a way to avoid prayer and simply be a one-stop shop to unload guilt and avoid taking responsibility. There is no shepherding, no counseling, no pastoring at these sites. And that is exactly what the confessors need.

The problem with online confessionals is the lack of human contact. In a Catholic church, the priest asks the confessor questions, offers suggestions for reparations and absolution (as for as I know). The internet can do none of those things. The root of the problem is the personal disconnect that the internet brings. While it is a useful tool and, honestly, I couldn't survive without it, there is not a relational aspect of the internet. Even so-called chat rooms, and forums lack true personal relations. There is something to be said for the cartharsis of face to face conversation. Or face to the disembodied voice in the confessional, at least. As I am not Catholic, I have never been to a formal confessional, so there may be much that I don't know about the practice and Doctrine of Reconciliation. What I do know is that human beings need human interaction. In Christianity, this becomes especially pertinent as we try to show Christ to the world. What about this: Instead of having them post their supposed confessions for the world to see, let's concentrate on reaching out to people in our local community. Because honestly, I'm not sure God checks these message boards.