lipreading

evidently there is some new fallout over the catholic sex abuse scandal. a church in San Jose is adding windows to its confessionals. Some back story: confessionals are about the size of two phone booths, standing side by side. The priest sits on one side, naughty catholics file into the other side and, one by one, confess their sins. The priest gives you some feedback and discusses penance (what you must do to absolve yourself of the sins you've committed). This cleans your slate for a few months until you find the need to return and do it all over again. Without poking fun at, or holes in, the concept....let me instead address the idea of putting windows in these things.

have their been any cases of misconduct occuring in the confessionals? the way 99 pecent of these things are built, I have no clue HOW misconduct could occur in one of them. you have a metal grate between you and the priest for pete's sake. next they'll start cancelling the feast of st. blaize (I think that's the name of it, I'm rusty on all of this people and could not tell you the last time I even went to confession). during one specific feast, there is a ceremony where the priest takes two unlight candles and uses them to bless your throat...it's supposed to help you stay healthy throughout the year. anyway, next thing you know, THIS will be cancelled so no one gets the wrong idea about a priest coming that close to the unprotected necks of hundreds of parishoners each year.

fine, I am being extreme to make a point. and in no way am I trying to trivialize or make light of the sex abuse scandal. I am just hoping that, as we take proactive measures to ensure such a thing never happens again, we use a little common sense. instead of windows in confessionals, we should let priests get married. oy, don't get me started. All I know is I am learning how to lipread if windows are installed in my parish's confessionals. if only to see the look on someone's face when I address the details of their confession specifcially and directly upon their exit from the booth: "TWO sheep AND a pony? What in the hell got into you?!"