“Why do I go to a priest, can’t I just go to Christ directly?” “Isn’t God a loving God? All this talk about sin will give people psychoses!”
These are some of the attitudes towards Confession that exist today both within and outside of the Church – but according to Theological Scholar Owen Vyner (pictured left with wife and children), this isn’t stopping the resurgence of the Sacrament among young Catholics.
“In my experience I see many, many young people are feeling a great call to it,” he said.
After completing postgraduate degrees in theology and marriage & family studies, Owen felt drawn to take a deeper look at what is often seen as ‘the forgotten Sacrament’. He is currently working on a doctoral thesis on the topic.
“Receiving [the Sacrament of Confession]for many years I found that it really does have a transformative effect, it really does do something,” Owen said.
“Over years you start to see how things you once struggled with, you don’t struggle with them anymore.
“I also have found that especially as a husband and as a father I’ve come to rely on the Sacrament a great deal,” he said.
So what are the factors undermining the importance of the Sacrament of Confession, and why is the Sacrament so important in the first place? In this interview, Owen takes us through the history of the Sacrament, explores some of the common objections to it from within the Church and contemporary culture and provides answers to these challenges.
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Owen will be presenting a lecture on “The Grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: Healing for a Broken World” at the third edition of the Order of Malta lecture series. The talk will take place at 6.15pm (for a 6.30 start) on Wednesday 26 February in St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt, Sydney. For details visit orderofmalta.org.au.
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