Can you go to confession online or by phone?

No. A Catholic can't receive the sacrament of Confession online, by phone, by video call, by text or by email. The priest and the penitent have to be physically present to each other, and that has always been the Church's practice. What you can do online is find a confession time near you and prepare well. If you truly can't get to a priest, there's a real path to God's mercy in the meantime, explained below.

Why isn't confession by phone or video valid?

Confession is a sacrament, an encounter in person. You come as you are, you speak your sins aloud, and a priest, standing in for Christ, absolves you there. The Church has always celebrated it with the penitent and the priest in the same place, and it hasn't changed that for new technology. A priest can't absolve someone on the other end of a phone line, even someone he knows well.

The seal of confession is part of the picture too. A phone call can be recorded. A video call can be overheard. A chat lives on a server. The Church protects what you confess with an absolute secrecy (CCC 1467), and that is much easier to keep in a quiet room than on a network. We explain the rule in the seal of confession.

So any website or app that offers to "hear your confession" or absolve you online isn't offering the sacrament, whatever it calls itself. Typing out your sins can still be a good examination of conscience. It just isn't Confession.

What about during COVID?

When churches closed in 2020, the Church didn't move confession onto video calls. Instead, many priests found ways to hear confessions in person at a safe distance, in parking lots, in gardens, and through open car windows. Even when everything else had gone online, the priest and the penitent still had to be there together.

In March 2020 the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican office for these questions, reminded Catholics who truly couldn't get to Confession about perfect contrition, which is explained below.

What if I already "confessed" online?

Nothing bad has happened. If you typed out your sins on a website, said them to a priest on a video call, or wrote them in an app, your sorrow was real and God saw it. It wasn't the sacrament, though, so the next step is the same as for anyone: go to Confession in person and confess as you normally would.

You don't need to mention the online attempt to the priest, and you don't need to feel foolish about it. Many people have done the same, often because they wanted to come back and didn't know where to start. That wish is a good place to start from.

What if I can't get to a church?

If Confession isn't possible for a while, because of illness, distance, travel or no confession times nearby, you're not cut off from God. The Church teaches that perfect contrition, sorrow that comes from love of God, obtains forgiveness even of mortal sins, as long as it includes the firm intention to go to Confession as soon as you can (CCC 1452).

In practice:

1. Tell God you're sorry, because you love him. Pray an Act of Contrition slowly, or simply say it in your own words.
2. Mean to confess. Make the intention concrete: "As soon as I can get to a priest, I will."
3. Confess at the first real chance. When you go, confess any serious sins forgiven this way, like any others.

One point to know about Communion: if you're aware of a mortal sin, the ordinary rule is to go to Confession before receiving, even after an act of contrition (CCC 1457). Our page on receiving Communion in mortal sin explains the narrow exception. The difference between the two kinds of sorrow is in perfect and imperfect contrition.

If you're homebound, sick or in the hospital

Don't rule out Confession just because you can't get to the church. Call your parish office and ask for a priest to visit. Parishes do this regularly for people at home, in hospitals and in care homes, and it's a normal request, not a favor. Most hospitals also have a Catholic chaplain or can reach one. If you're caring for someone who can't get out, you can make that call for them. On the same visit, the priest can usually bring Communion too, and the Anointing of the Sick for someone seriously ill.

In danger of death, any priest can hear your confession and absolve you, wherever he's from. If someone you love is seriously ill, call a priest early rather than waiting for the last moment.

If you can't speak or hear well

You still confess in person, but there are good options. You can write your sins down and hand the paper to the priest, face to face, then take it back. You can confess through an interpreter, who is bound to secrecy like the priest. Some dioceses also have priests who use sign language. Ask your parish or diocese what's available near you.

What you can do online

A lot of the work around Confession can happen on your phone. It's just not the sacrament itself.

• Find a time. Most parishes post confession times on their website or in the bulletin, often on Saturday afternoon, and some also hear confessions before weekday or Sunday Masses. If yours doesn't fit your week, look at nearby parishes or the cathedral. You can go to any Catholic church, and many priests will hear a confession by appointment if you call.
• Examine your conscience. An examination of conscience works just as well on a screen as on paper.
• Learn what to say. If it's been a while, read up on what to say and what the priest will say back, so nothing surprises you.
• Talk to a priest. A phone or video conversation with a priest about your faith, a question or a struggle can help a great deal. It's counsel, not absolution.

Can a Catholic app hear my confession?

No. When a confession app for the iPhone made the news in 2011, the Vatican's spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi, said plainly that you can't confess by iPhone. An app might help with an examination of conscience, he said, but it can't replace the sacrament. That's still true. An app can help you remember what to confess, keep track of how long it's been, and steady your nerves before you go. Only a priest, in person, can absolve you.

If it's been a long time and the distance feels bigger than the drive, start small. Look up one confession time this week, and see going back to Confession after years. The priest will be glad you came.