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A survey in 2005 showed that 42% of Catholic adults, when asked how often they went to confession, answered "Never."

The days of ritual visits to confession on Saturday afternoons are over, at least for most
Catholic families. In that same survey, 32 % of Catholics said they confess their sins to a priest less than “once a year"?  How did the church in America move in just a few decades from full, to empty confessionals? There is not one, but a confluence of factors.

- The first is a profound change in the sense of sin. On the one hand, we're not obsessed with sin any longer, but on the other hand, people don't think of themselves as sinners, which is a big problem. Many Christians are not all that open to recognizing personal responsibility. Many feel that the psychologist, or spiritual director, fills the same needs that the confessors once did.

- The second is a shift in emphasis on the presentation of the sacrament. A.)After Vatican II, the Church started speaking more frequently about "social sins," like racism and sexism. B.) We were also made aware of the importance of the penitential rite at the beginning of the Mass: It is an important way to reconcile oneself with God and others. C.) The teaching of the Church
emphases God's mercy more frequently than before. D.) As a result, some Catholics may have become confused about whether or not confession is still necessary.

- The third reason behind so many empty confessionals, is the publication of Humanae Vitae, in 1968 when Catholics began to doubt not only the need to confess sexual sins but also the moral authority of the church, whose representatives would absolve them from these sins.

- The fourth reason may be the simplest: because of busier lives, American Catholics are not as able to keep the Saturday afternoon ritual of going to confession with their family as they did before.

What can the church do about it?
While the sacrament is on the decline, some parishes are attracting many people to confession. How? Because people have understood that Confession is not an obligation, but as an opportunity. This sacrament is more about how good God is than how bad we are.