What to expect with confession

Not only will Masses resume from 4th July 2020 but confessions are now allowed to be advertised too. The Catholic Bishops Conference is recommending outdoor confessions in preference to indoors. Here is a summary of the guidelines:

• Penitent and priest will be at right angles to each other or back to back.
• If indoors, penitents will sanitise their hands when entering the church.
• A chair or kneeler may be used by the penitent, but there is a possibility that the penitent might be asked to stand.
• At present traditional confessionals will be avoided due to the restricted airflow within them.
• Confessions will be limited to protect the priest from potential overexposure to the virus.