Seeking Absolution From the Crowd: Confession in the Age of Algorithm

One of the methods that the Evil One has been using to destroy young people has become increasingly obvious to me and others who work with kids. He has deceived them into thinking that acceptance by many is more important than the forgiveness of the One. If everyone seems to think that something isn’t a big deal, then who is some priest, a guy who has chosen to live in celibacy and obedience, to tell me otherwise? If it is not hurting anyone, then who cares?

These insidious questions are at the core of the problem, and the peace and transcendent grace of the confessional have been replaced by the exhilaration of the possibility of going viral. We live in a society where the actions that get you noticed and lauded on a large scale are becoming increasingly more violent, salacious, and sinful. But why worry about sin when your follower count grows with each post?

Recently, YouTuber Jesse Ridgway, known as McJuggerNuggets, and his wife, Ashley, came under fire for aborting their baby at five months after receiving the news that the child would be born with Down syndrome. The reaction to the news was largely what one would expect: utter disgust and horror. What was striking, however, was the relative ease with which the couple disclosed the information and their reaction to the blowback.

There was a time, not too long ago, when something as devastating and sinful as abortion would have been an uncomfortable secret that would have stayed within the immediate family. Now, though, we live in a time where those secrets are thrown into the realm of public knowledge and discourse. However, this is not because people are seeking a new paradigm of existence within the framework of moral discussion and honesty but because they are seeking validation from a society that is all too happy to forgive egregious sins. The smartphone-pulpit has replaced the confessional for far too many.

Ridgway and his wife released a statement in response to people who were rightly calling out their sin for exactly what it was. The statement reads like a testimonial from a child who is raging against the oppressive nature of being made to eat their veggies and get to bed at a reasonable hour. There is nothing in the statement that evokes any sense of regret or remorse for the termination of a life; instead, it fills the reader with the unmistakable notion that the couple’s convenience meant far more than the child they were voluntarily bringing into the world. The statement was released to put out the fire that the couple had started themselves.

It is understandable, as that level of public scrutiny is difficult for even the thickest-skinned individuals to endure. However, it was not put out to illustrate how deeply they felt the wound of their own sin. Nor was it released as a mea culpa to a society that showed that it still has some teeth in the war of good versus evil. It was released to humanize their decision in a manner that elicits compassion and empathy so that those who agree with their course of action feel empowered to carry water for them. In essence, the couple sought absolution through performative outrage on their behalf, carried out by allies and fans.

The Catholic response to these sorts of incidents cannot be a watered-down assessment of the variables of each situation followed by forgiveness that comes with a “let’s try to do better next time, OK” admonishment. Nor can compassion and empathy be missing completely. True witness to Christ is to point to the confessional as the only true remedy for a sinful life or sinful actions. That cannot be done if every sinful action undertaken by those around us is met with a milquetoast faith that values acceptance over truth.

In a world where calling out sin is castigated as being judgmental and elitist, the words of St. Catherine of Siena ring loudly: “Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.” Silence is a way of tacitly giving permission, or, at the very least, turning a blind eye in a way that is manufactured to be easily perceived. For the Catholic, allowing sin to exist without pointing it out and, at the same time, nearly jumping out of their skin in pointing to the eternal mercy and love of the Father in the confessional, is to reject the divine gift of their responsibility as a follower of Christ. We belong to Him, and we must act like it.

During the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent, the Catholic high school where I teach offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation to students, faculty, and staff. For a few days each season, the school has visiting diocesan priests join our chaplain to facilitate the large numbers of souls looking to unburden themselves through the profoundly transformative power of the confessional. It is a living witness not only to the faith that is very much alive in the Church today but a sobering reminder of the price that was paid for our salvation. However, the gravity of that realization is made approachable through the love and mercy that were the catalysts for that saving action on the Cross two thousand years ago.

Naturally, some of the penitents approach the sacrament with trepidation, nervousness, and fear, as if the weight of their own sins will bring the building crashing down around them after the priest, acting as Samson, begins rushing at and pushing on the walls. In fact, a great deal of reassurance is needed in the moments before I bring my classes down to the chapel. No, God is not going to hate you for what you have done. No, the priest isn’t going to hate you for what you have done. Yes, Jesus loves you, no matter what. Yet this same group of students has no problem plastering their social media with every single hairbrained, dangerous, and sinful action they undertake. Validation has replaced reconciliation.

The truth is that the Evil One will use whatever means are at his disposal to rip souls out of the hands of the Father. Today, it is seeking forgiveness through volume. To hope that the Western world will, one day, rub its eyes and wake up to this is not enough. In fact, attempting to tackle a problem at the hemispheric level is entirely too much for a person to digest. However, that does not mean that the individual Catholic is therefore relieved of their responsibilities. It means that the individual Catholic must start within themselves and work outwardly in their immediate family and social circles.

A devotion to the Sacrament of Reconciliation must be cultivated personally and modeled for those in one’s care. The most profound witness anyone can offer to young people is an ambivalence toward the aesthetic and value system of pop culture. When young people see those in positions of authority in their lives acting in a way consistent with their instruction and guidance, they see authenticity and a faith that pushes past the crowd. Powerful, personal devotion has always been worth emulation. In a West where acceptance by many is a permission structure for sin, the Catholic who rejects that worldview in words and actions stands as a refreshing beacon of light in an increasingly darkening world.