Pastor's Weekly Message

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Dear St. Agnes Parishioners
 
Confessionals

With all the problems we have had with sex abuse,
we are now and have been taking many,
many steps to protect children.
One of the basic fundamental guidelines is for an adult
 to never be alone with a child at the church.
This means that in the confessional,
the priest cannot be alone with the child.
The priest and the child must be visible to the parents or guardians.
Therefore, when I first arrived at this parish,
I immediately removed the solid doors to the confessionals
so that the priest would never be alone with a child,
so that a parent could always see the child.
We originally had four confessionals in this church.
Two were abandoned years ago and replaced by statues of St. Ann and St. Anthony.
The two confessionals by Mary and Joseph were changed
from their original structure to reconciliation rooms with the closed door.
This is no longer acceptable which is why I removed the doors.
However, we still need to make our confessionals back
to their original structure for the most part.
That would mean the priest sits in the center
and on each side will be the person going to confession.
Where the individuals will be seen.
One side will be face to face, the other side behind the grill.
We are hiring the contractor who repaired the interior of the church to do this project.
We will begin first with the confessional on Mary’s side.
All of this is to continue to provide the greatest protection of our children.

 
Sincerely in Christ, 
     Fr. Dennis J. Hayes, III

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