CONFESSION boxes have become so rarely used in recent years that they are being used in some parishes as storage cupboards, priests have revealed.
Long queues of the faithful seeking absolution from their sins has all but disappeared, according to an RTÉ documentary to be screened tonight.
The programme features 15 priests from small parish churches to big city cathedrals across Ireland opening up about what it’s like to hear the sins of others.
Priests also give their own experiences of confession, to what kind of things they have heard and how it impacted on them.
As well as confronting the evolving role of the Catholic Church in Irish life, it also focuses on attendance numbers and how they are affecting the way priests provide confession.
According to the RTÉ blurb for the programme: “Through the prism of the confession box, which are now mainly used for storing vacuum cleaners and cleaning products, Irish priests from small parish churches to big city cathedrals open up about what it’s like to hear the sins of others.
“They also make a powerful and a uniquely honest case for how the Catholic Church in Ireland became infected by the sins it condemned; sins, which they believe have spread all over the world. Nevertheless, each priest has their own reasons for staying within the church."
Among those to feature is Fr Conor McGrath, of the Parish of Glenravel in Co Antrim. In one scene he shows how his church's confession box is used to store an emergency defibrillator device while others show them as storage places.
Meanwhile despite coronavirus restrictions hampering how priests hear confession, there is still a demand from parishioners for the sacrament, Down and Connor diocesan spokesman Fr Eddie McGee has said.
Following guidelines issued in June on how parishes can safely offer services during the pandemic, clerics were advised to set aside confessional areas where "consideration should be given to the privacy of the sacrament as well as the requirements of physical distancing and hygiene".
Fr McGee said: "The new guidance is there to support those who want to avail of confession during this time. There is still a demand for it, but safety measures are there to ensure it can be done with the health and safety of all concerned in mind. We are seeing clergy use very creative ways to provide the sacrament as a result."
Among the innovations reported this year was confession for parishioners heard through the locked gates of Corpus Christi Church in west Belfast by Fr Paddy McCafferty.
RTÉ One tonight at 9.35pm, The Confessors
