Boomer returns to the box

Ed Conroy's feature on the "disappearing" sacrament of confession (NCR, Feb. 9) recalls what most Catholics remember about the confessional, that it is a place to confess sins. However, he fails to mention what most of us forget: Confession is both a devotion and a means of spiritual growth for the ordinary person. How many Catholics are out running around the religious countryside looking for just such a spiritual opportunity when it is right here at home in our churches? A brief reading of the sections in The Catholic catechism that deal with the sacrament of penance will have us lining up to participate, as it did for me, a baby boomer who has returned to the box. And how about this for an incentive not mentioned in the article? The penitent is implicitly drawn to reception of the Eucharist. Take a number; the line forms here.

JAMES K. HANNA

Venetia, Pa.

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