Reply #19: I agree with you about the manipulation, and it used to work, [View All]

[Matilda]

back in the dim dark past when education was poor, or non-existent.
These days, it's not so easy - certainly in Australia, I think most
Catholics use what they agree with, and ignore anything else. It's
probably pretty much the same in most western countries.

As an example, back even in the sixties, Confession was held in most
Catholic churches on Saturdays for about two hours in the morning,
and two or three late afternoon, with more than one priest hearing
Confessions at the same time in big churches or the cathedral.
Nowadays, in our church at least, Confession is a half-hour on
Saturday afternoon, which means most Catholics are happy to make
their own peace with God in their own way, which is as it should be.
Sometimes it's good to be able to talk over a particular problem
with a priest, but it's a matter of choice.

I know it probably seems weird anyway to Protestants, but things
really have changed a lot over the past thirty years. Only I don't
think Rome has realised it yet.