Timor mortis conturbat me

This is a Latin phrase meaning "The fear of death disturbs me." It was often seen in late medieval/early Renaissance poetry.

The fear expressed is not so much of death itself but rather, of dying "unshriven," or without having confessed your sins. In Christian mythology, if you die with an unabsolved mortal sin, you get the express elevator to hell. With less serious sins, you have to spend a certain amount of time in Purgatory, a small town in Kentucky with lots of guns but no toilets.

Now, this makes Christians nervous in times of danger. So I'm wondering--can they still see a priest for confession now that churches are closed? If priests do make themselves available, how do they keep people apart as they wait for their confession session?

Italy is a very religious nation, so I'm wondering how they handle this problem there. For many people, access to a church is more important than access to food or water. What's the situation in Italy's Christian community?

Saw an article last night here in So.Cal. where a priest has started a drive up confessional.He sits in a chair and you drive up to him,taking care to be 6 feet away,and confess your heart out.Right in the drive way.

Another example of thinking outside the box (or outside the confessional) to carry on business.  Creative solutions.  Hey, if the brothels can do it...

Husband and I watched a local church service on TV this morning.  No congregation, but pastors, the organist, a soloist, a violinist, lyrics to hymns on screen.   They went through the usual order of service.  Better than nothing.   Other churches around here are live streaming theirs (still no congregation).  But that's a little high tech for me.  Still wondering how the heck TV works.  LOL.

We aren't Catholic, don't require a priest to confess sins.  

Details on the Catholic Churches closures in Italy can be found at The National Catholic Reporter .

Summaries of church closures of different denominations and elsewhere can be found at CNN .

Candy, Our church did live streaming this morning via Facebook.  When it came to communion she said we could have what ever we wanted.  I had milk and a oreo cookie.  Comments from the flock ranged from coffee and protein bar to Capt. Morgan and banana bread.  The worship service was really good with the exception of a few minor technical glitches.

That Communion issue is why there aren't more live stream Catholic services. Traditionalists say it's not a real service unless you can eat Jesus's liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti, or whatever the priestly magic is supposed to do.

It's absurd, of course, and always has been, but if there's one institution that's shackled by tradition...

cjen, our pastor agrees.  Flexibility.  Your pastor blessed your "elements" through the live streaming.  Very nice.