I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by the article in the link below. Probably none of us should be surprised. It’s no secret that the confessionals in our churches are growing musty and dusty from underuse. I’m not only referring to the physical structure of the confessional, but to the sacrament itself. When everything’s relative, why would anybody have to reconcile anything?
The quote from Archbishop Mauro Piacenza pretty much hits the nail on the head.
“Archbishop Mauro Piacenza has told Vatican Radio the sacrament of penance has been experiencing a “deep crisis” for decades. Piacenza, an official for the Vatican office on clergy, says fewer people distinguish between good and evil, and as a result don’t go to confession.”
I think Satan has given up on convincing folks to do evil. That’s old hat. His better bet, which he seems to be executing quite successfully, is to blur the difference between good and evil, to smudge out the clear lines of the Commandments and the teachings of the Church. The trick, he’s found out, it to convince people to do evil with good intentions.
“I’m on the pill because I wouldn’t want to bring a kid into the world I’m not ready to take care of.”
“Everybody dresses like this. It’s the style, so what’s the problem?”
“I only did it once or twice. It’s not like I do it all the time.”
We compartmentalize, rationalize, and divinize just to convince ourselves that what we’re doing is completely within the range of normal and moral. And if everybody else is doing it, then why would we have to confess it? We’re in great danger when we measure our actions against one another rather than God. And that’s exactly what the demon wants us to do.
The Vatican handbook mentioned in the article can’t come soon enough.
Vatican laments drop in confessions
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