Q. I’ve heard you can get married by proxy (such as during war time). Can you go to confession by ZOOM?
A. I have been told that some of my “Ask the Register” answers get a bit too in the weeds with nuance and caveats. That’s probably true. Luckily, the answer to this question is super straightforward and easy: no. It is not just contrary to Church law, but in fact utterly invalid (that is, not sacramentally efficacious) to go to confession over ZOOM.
Interestingly enough, this issue is not one that has come about because of modern technology. Back in the day, the same issue was brought forward regarding whether you could receive absolution via the mail, with the penitent writing their sins down and mailing them to the priest, who would then mail back their absolution. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer was no, that does not work, and with every new form of long distance communication, that question gets raised again with the answer continuing to be, no.
The issue is not the communicating of sins via some artificial means, whether that be written down or using a tablet, which is permitted, so long as it occurs instantaneously and in the presence of the priest. Confession can even be celebrated through an intermediary such as a translator, so it is not that sins cannot be confessed and absolution granted when there is a medium through which it occurs.
The issue is both a theological as well as a practical one. The practical one is the issue of secrecy. One cannot be absolutely certain that a call via ZOOM, or even over the regular phone, is not in some way, shape, or form being overheard or recorded, even just accidentally. It is not that another person hearing a confession invalidates it (as mentioned, confession through a translator is perfectly fine) but rather the danger that someone outside of the Seal (which applies to the priest) or unaware of the Secret (which applies to a lay person who overhears a confession) would overhear a confession and spread the information.
As I have written about in past answers, the Church takes the secrecy of confession very, very seriously and is unwilling to take risks with it.
Beyond the practical issue is the theological one, which gets to the very heart of the sacraments. The whole reason God chose to communicate His grace through visible signs is because He understands human beings better than we understand ourselves. He knows we need the tangible encounter of the sacraments to enter into them fully. Removing the tangible physical presence of the person from the priest removes an essential element of the sacrament itself and reduces confession to a perfunctory exchange of information instead of a tangible encounter with the Mercy of the Father.
Would it not be more convenient for everyone if they could go to confession over ZOOM? Maybe. But as those who are more familiar with ZOOM than they would like to be know, convenience is a lackluster replacement for the personal connection that is lost in a virtual gathering.
What about for those who cannot physically get to confession, or are in places where access to confession is limited? Shouldn’t the Church make it easier for those people? The Church will make it as easy as possible while still maintaining Her integrity of belief. In this case, She does so by recognizing that, while confession is the only ordinary means, there are other means of reconciliation. “CIC c. 960 Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church. Only physical or moral impossibility excuses from confession of this type; in such a case reconciliation can be obtained by other means.”
At the end of the day, the Church is not going to adopt a practice that is going to contradict what we know to be true, or allow something that we know won’t accomplish its purpose. Confession over ZOOM does not work, so the Church does not allow it. The Church loves us too much to indulge our desire for convenience to the detriment of our salvation.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
