Article: I hear confessions.(Viewpoint)

I hear confessions at St. Francis of Assisi Church in midtown Manhattan. It is possibly my chief work. The two confessionals are spare, small and often cold. In summer, awful odors can linger, a composite of perfume, cologne or spent breath. The stale smell of a cigarette occasionally rises from clothing or is borne on the spoken word. My tiny fan does battle with it. This is the setting in which a variety of people pop in to go to confession. They are at all points in the journey to God.

Some are in the midst of an anxiety attack and desperately want to be at peace. Delicately, I try to deepen self-understanding but their defenses can be formidable: fear of ...

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