Author: Carla Kucinski
Publication: The Times of India
Date: June 21, 2001
Need to cleanse your soul without
getting up close and personal with a cleric?
Now you can unburden yourself of
all those naughty things you've done without kneeling in a dark closet
or confessing face to face.
In February, the only nondenominational
Christian radio station in the United Kingdom, Premier Christian Radio
in London, began an online confessional (www.theconfessor.co.uk) where
visitors pour out their sins to a computer screen. Within 72 hours of the
launch, the station says, a million people visited the site.
The Confessor arose from a brainstorming
session of Premier Christian Radio executives about how Web surfers could
use the Internet in a Christian way. Peter Kerridge, the managing director,
was part of the team who thought of online confessions. "When people go
to confession, they go to a church and sit in a little brown box and talk
to someone who is a complete stranger about very intimate things," Kerridge
said. The Internet "has huge potential for people who don't go to church
and don't dream of ever going."
If you go to the site, a small frame
pops up, flashing sentences such as "Here's an opportunity for confession
and repentance." Two arrow keys in the top right corner lead the confessor
through each frame, set against a background of blue sky and white clouds.
Before the confession, the user
is invited to read Bible excerpts about confessing sins to God, and about
what sin means and its consequences. Kerridge hopes the site's content
and layout give confessors a religious experience. "It takes them on a
journey of faith," Kerridge said. "I think it rings true for many people
that confession is a way of getting rid of the garbage in (their) life."
In the next screen, the confessor
reveals his or her sins by either typing them in a box or by choosing a
prepared confession "as already used by Christians the world over." Confessions
are confidential, station executives say, and once you click the arrow
key, the confession is erased. The arrows do not even allow you to return
to your typed confession. The confession also doesn't remain in your computer's
memory. (And, sorry folks, but you can't read others confessions.)
Brief scriptures, reflection and
a final prayer follow the confession.
But William Ryan, a spokesman for
the U.S. Catholic Conference, said the Church does not recognize online
confessions, and that people who use the Website will not receive absolution.
Moreover, Ryan said, the image of
Catholics confessing in "little brown boxes" is outdated. Although confessors
still have the option, they are not required to use traditional confessionals.
Instead, they're invited into a comfortable, well-lit room with a priest.
(LATWP Svc)
