An internet Web site where users are invited to confess their sins has received about 60,000 "hits" or visits by computer-users around the world, with more than one million pages accessed in less than two weeks, according to the organizers.
The Web site was launched January 20 as an offshoot of Premier Christian Radio, an ecumenical station broadcasting in the London area. The site had already attracted visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa as well as the United Kingdom, said Premier's spokesman, Ian Robertson.Premier believes that the site is the world's first specialized confessional Web site.
Peter Kerridge, managing director of Premier Christian Radio, said: "The 'Confessor' provides a simple and expedient way of examining one's conscience and asking for God's help in the quiet and privacy of the home. It can concentrate the mind in the act of repentance."
Visitors to the site are shown a series of promises from the Bible concerning the confession of sins and the request for forgiveness. They may either consider their sins silently in response to the screen's messages, or type their sins onto the computer in spaces provided.
However, no replies are given through the site to these confessions. Premier stresses that what computer users type remains in their computers and is not transmitted to anyone else.
Robertson told ENI that the site was intended to be "reflective, not interactive."
"We wanted to get back to the biblical idea of confessing sins being between you and God. In a way, it's not much different from writing your sins down on a piece of paper."
Robertson acknowledged that the Confessor was closer to the Protestant tradition of confessing direct to God than to the Catholic tradition involving a priest.
He added: "We have many Catholic listeners, and the Confessor doesn't undermine the Roman Catholic idea of confession—particularly when less than 10 percent of the population go to any church."
Monsignor Kieran Conry, of the Catholic Media Office in London, told ENI that he welcomed the Premier Web site "as a way to encourage people to reflect on their lives."
"The only potential problem is a confusion of terms," he said. "In no sense are people using the Web site involved in a sacramental process."
In the Catholic understanding, confessions could not be made by electronic means, even a telephone, Monsignor Conry explained. The priest needed to be physically present and to have a dialogue with the penitent. Confession involved five stages: repentance, confession of the sin, penance, absolution and a commitment to conversion [mending one's ways].
Meanwhile, users of Apple Macintosh computers may find themselves unable to tell the Confessor about their sins. Premier confessed that for technical reasons the site was "not Mac-friendly" and reported that less than one percent of hits came from Mac users.
Ian Robertson said he was delighted with the success so far of Confessor, but not completely surprised. Premier Radio runs a program called Lifeline where people phone in to share their troubles. Robertson said Lifeline received more than 1,000 calls a week.
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