April 8, 2009 4:58 PM
Easter clean-up campaign - Catholic Confession
From the the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, a tongue-in-cheek campaign - modeled after the ShamWow TV ads - to remind us that Easter's a good time to come clean :)
From the New York Times:
The 49-second video spoof -- titled Soulwow -- features a young man (not a real priest, City Room learned) dressed in a priest's cassock."Feeling lost? Confused? Have something to get off your chest?" he asks. "Sure, there are thousands of products to clean your house, clothes, teeth, hair, and anything and everything else. But there's only one way to clean yourself from the inside out."
The hyperbolic video, which went up on YouTube last week, goes on to urge parishioners to take part in the Holy Sacrament of Confession at any church in Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday.
"We have hundreds of priests waiting to take your confessions and give you that almost-baptized feeling," the priest intones. "Nothing soothes the soul like a true confession - you're following me, camera guy? -- and you'll be wondering how you went so long without it. So as Easter fast approaches, it's time to come clean and share in this holy sacrament."
The Rev. Kieran E. Harrington, the vicar for communications at the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also covers Queens, said the ad was intended to be funny, and even a bit over-the-top.
"It had to be a little more off-beat and out there to cut through the noise," he said. "It couldn't be the same old, same old."
Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio "was supportive of it," Father Harrington said.
"The initial reaction was one of amusement," he said. "'Is it a little too out there?' But I think the sense was that we want to take risks to publicize the things we're doing."
The Diocese of Rockville Centre, which started the local tradition of devoting a large portion of the Monday before Easter to confession, also did not mind.
Father Harrington, who is also the parish priest at the Church of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, said the idea for the video came from a parishioner at St. Patrick's in Bay Ridge, where Father Harrington once worked.
Father Harrington said he believed confession could help people in difficult times. "There's a lot of economic stress in people's lives right now," he said. "Why is it that sin products -- liquor, tobacco, and such things -- are typically considered recession-proof? People seek out these vices in an economic downturn. We're hoping this is a way to provide comfort to people feeling stress from the economy."
Thanks Sue from Buffalo!
Posted in Catholicism | Permalink
Comments
That's adorable. :) Something my parents and sibs would giggle over, being Catholics with a sense of humor. :D
Posted by: Margaret | April 9, 2009 4:59 AM
