Whom might I contact to have my confession heard by e-mail or snail-mail?
Dear Inquirer,
 The
idea
of confessions being heard at a distance was raised early in this century
because of invention of the telephone. Although communications technologies
have evolved, the Church has had some time to consider the nature of
your question and its implications.
When
we go to the Gospels and watch Jesus at work ministering to people,
we notice that in his ministry of the forgiveness of personal sins,
Jesus was always physically present to that person: up close and
personal, we might say. Read for example Mark
2,1-12 or John 8,1-11. When we
remember that every Sacrament is a personal encounter with the Lord
in and through the person of the minister, that ministerial-person must
be very present to us, "right next to us", so to speak. This
cannot be done on the phone or by email. And since each Sacrament
is also an action of the Church, the minister (in this case, the
priest) is that personal presence of the Church to us. That important
personal ecclesial dimension would be missing on the phone or in email.
Confession, mid-20th century. Many churches today have small chapels
where people can meet face to face, if they wish, with the confessor,
or from behind a screen.
There
is also reasonable concern about the security and thus the privacy
of confessions heard outside the reconciliation chapel or confessional.
Confession by telephone, snail-mail or email presents a real danger
that confessional secrecy could be compromised.
You
might find it helpful to explore with a priest what makes it either
difficult or impossible for you to seek the Sacrament in a parish or
retreat house setting.
The readings from Mark 2, 1-12 and John 8,
1-11
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