Confession is actualy quite limited unless it is followed up by a change of action with the intention, however difficult, to do things differently.
Otherwise it is a device whereby people are let off the hook of the necessary ordeal of self responsibility.My favourite example of confession is this:
Fred confesses to the priest that he is obsessed with sexual thoughts and has been getting it off with some of the local girls. The priest asks him if it was with Betty, Sarah, Jane or Katherine.
Afterwards Fred's friends ask him if his confession helped at all.
Not really replied Fred but I did get some good leads.

I've always thought that confession was the most appaling cop-out - you can getway with murder (literally) as long as you say sorry afterwards. Thanks, but no. Mind you, what else would you expect from followers of the Imaginary Friend who think that it was somehow praiseworthy that the IM killed his child. Once you enter the realm of unreason, there is no end to the nonsense you can talk yourself into believing

'... we do not know that we are sinners and have to learn that we are.' Well, not in the rational world. People do good and bad things, and it is surely far better that the bad things don't happen in the first place than to tell people they can get away with any amount of stuff just by saying a few hail Marys. "Sorry Guv'nor - I couldn't help it, I'm just a misereble sinner".

And as for the suggestion that Blairs education reforms didn't work becaus they failed to line up all the schoolkids in Britain to say how wicked they were - what planet are we on here?

Note to editor - I just had my post blocked (temporarily) because I has 3 question marks at the end of the previous sentence, with the instruction that I had to remove them to continue. Just what sort of gramaticallly fascist software are you running?(?)(?) Ha! Just found a way around it! (!)(!)

"our only hope is to return to the Father."

And this is best done in the heart Father, not in the pew. True confession only occurs when there has been real insight and understanding around the so-called 'misdemeanour'. The problem with buying into 'church' confession is that it is an immediate acceptance of dogma. The church decides what is 'wrong'.

In relationships of course, the only thing that can be wrong is misunderstanding, disagreement and non-consensuality. When such matters are resolved at personally, between people, then they are not necessarily hurting others. Confession in such a scenario is not required - peace and absolute honesty exist between the people concerned and therefore equilibrium has been achieved - which at the heart of it, is what spiritual practice aims to achieve, isn't it - peace and harmony?

Dogmatism is often an obstacle to peace and harmony, and not an enabler. I admit, confession can bring real peace to some people: the overwhelming desire to share a genuine understanding of how we may have been a problem to others. But the encouragement of honesty between people, rather than the slightly 'seedy' aspect of the confessional, would be a clearer route to a more open and generally loving society.

Peter, I know what you mean. Most weeks at our local church we no longer use the full confession (… in thought, word and deed…) but a shorter, sanitised politically correct one (… for living life without you … forgive us Lord …). It’s deeply unsatisfying, and it changes the balance and rhythm of the service.

Confession is not about “getting away” with our wrongoings, as Candide suggested – we all must face the social consequences of what we’ve done, including jail time if necessary and appropriate. Rather, it’s but about coming to terms with them in a way which makes moving forward possible.

The sanctification of ‘self esteem’ in our culture is dangerous if it tells people they have a right not to feel bad about themselves, because it divorces them from both the emotional and the social consequences of their actions, and hence of the possibility of restoration/restitution or reconciliation.

Peter

You said
"Fortunately this movement is going the way of all fads but it is capable of producing a whole generation of unreflective sociopaths who will go through life feeling good about themselves regardless of the havoc they have caused in other people’s lives as they resolutely strive for their life goals."

Sounds a lot like the church to me. They are fading as we speak and judging by your tone, you and your church are getting on just fine in spite of the havoc the church has wrought over the past 2000 years.
What if the church is 'sinful'. And is the Anglican church's attitude to ordination of women not sinful (it is certainly unjust). Since it cannot confess its sin AND mend its ways... perhaps it should withdraw from the 'retaining and forgiving' of sins racket.
And as for the Uniting Church, it's attitude to ordination of gays puts it in exactly the same boat.

Can you really find God in all that grand complex of archaic and irrelevant symbols you call the Church?

Sociopaths? I thought you were talking about politicians.