VATICAN TO TRY TO GET MORE CONFESSIONS

My mind is boggled at the concept that the Vatican is unhappy that its subjects aren't confessing enough. If one can believe the teachings of the church that God is omniscient and omnipotent, why then do confessions have to be prurient fodder for the priests? Is that middle man really needed? Can't God do the punishment directly? What are we to believe when bad things happen to us? Aren't we being punished for something we have done, our ancestors have done, Adam and Eve did, all men and women have done, our children will do?

With my irreligious logic, it seems to me that by the time a person can articulate a sin to a priest, there is self-awareness of that sin. In raising children, I learned it was a more effective life lesson if the punishment fit the crime. A Hail Mary doesn't seem to associate with fornication, adultery, or whatever sins would be confessed these days.

Thus I was amused to read this recent article. "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." It seems the church has not troubled to ask its subjects why that decline might be.

As a therapist for many decades, I believe that it is more important for people to learn beyond recognizing good and evil. To manage their lives, they must learn a complicated concept of what behaviors are effective (or non-effective) in many areas of their life, some of which include family, relationships, honesty, integrity, fidelity, commitment, setting life goals, striving for professional success and so much more.

"The archbishop said in the interview Tuesday that if faithful don't have a sense of sin, they might "confuse" confession with "the couch of a psychologist or a psychiatrist." " Psychological treatment has undergone many years of research to establish its effectiveness. There have been many improvements in therapeutic techniques as a result. I am unaware that the church has ever really researched the effectiveness of that particular sacrament and I would welcome any reader correcting me if I have missed research done by the church as to its effectiveness with regard to confession. In fact, I wonder if many people are telling people they trust, (whoever that may be in their life) and benefiting from catharsis. If more is needed, saying more prayers (which has been researched and no significantly positive effectiveness in findings was the result against those in similar situations who did not pray
0...but that is another topic....