KMT 2022 nr 3 Download PDF

Celebration of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation in cyberspace from a theological and canonical perspective

Cite: , Celebracja sakramentu pokuty i pojednania w cyberprzestrzeni z perspektywy teologiczno-kanonicznej, "Kultura - Media - Teologia", 2022( 51) nr 3, s. 10-29.

DOI: 10.21697/kmt.51.1

At a time of the pandemic, the question of allowing the possibility of confession using the most modern audiovisual means has resurfaced in the Catholic Church. The Holy See, addressing the question of the celebration of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, has not made a direct and unequivocal statement on the subject. It has only affirmed that an individual confession remains the ordinary means of reconciliation, and that in the event of the inability to do so, the penitent may make an act of perfect contrition. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to assess the hypothetical possibility and desirability of confession via the Internet and mobile phone technology. The author, referring to the documents of the Church’s Magisterium and the statements of theologians and canonists, cites arguments both for and against this form of confession and points out the possible pastoral benefits and risks associated with the use of new technologies in the celebration of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.

About authors

Waldemar Bartocha

Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie

ORCID: 0000-0001-5896-1400