Religion: Confession by Phone

The best-known Roman Catholic priest in Germany today is Father Johannes Leppich, 40, whom the Communists denounce as the “Black Goebbels,” and conservative Catholics call the “Red Father.” Leppich moves tirelessly across the country, preaching and demanding help for the poor. To spread his gospel, Jesuit Leppich has used posters, picture slides, and last week he was busy with a new evangelical idea: “confession” by telephone.

“Thousands of people come to me,” he explains, “but I thought how many more might come if they didn’t have to look me in the face or tell their names.” In Nürnberg, a few months ago, he ran newspaper ads announcing that anyone with troubles not involving such matters as a loan or a new apartment should call a certain number after 8 p.m. Within three days Father Leppich had four priests manning “God’s Own Switchboard,” as he calls it. Many of the callers are Protestants, and, for Catholics, the system often breaks the embarrassment and fear that may have kept them from confession for years. For absolution, penitents must talk directly to a priest; the church does not recognize telephone confessions. But, says Father Leppich of his telephone service, “it really is a confession—one that’s a little easier on the confessor than the stuffy confessional box.”