Chelmsford Church Offers Drive-Through Confession Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
CHELMSFORD (CBS) -- While the spread of coronavirus has stopped churches from holding public worship, priests in Chelmsford have gotten creative about how they reach their parishioners.
"We would come in here for confession but that's just not possible now, so we're bringing it outdoors," Father Corey Bassett-Tirrell of Chelmsford Catholic Collaborative told CNN.
"After we had heard about a young priest in Maryland doing it. We thought 'this is something that we can do.' I'm six feet away from the penitent and it's just as if we were in the confessional," Bassett-Tirrell said. "It's amazing the response that people had to it."
St. Mary's parishioner Brian Lenihan told CNN he tries to go to confession during Lent, but he did not think that was going to be an option this year. "I think it's great that they are making this available to people," he said.
"It was important for people to know how much their priests love them and care about them and will go to any lengths that we can, safely and prudently, to reach them," said Bassett-Tirrell. "I'll be honest, for priests, I think it's a great spiritual shot in the arm for us as well. I mean who would have thought that people would be comfortable pouring their hearts out in a parking lot?"
On Friday, The Archdiocese of Boston said Catholics do not have to abstain from eating meat on Fridays for the remainder of Lent because of the coronavirus pandemic.
