A DUBLIN priest eager to adhere to Ireland's social distancing rules has come up with a brilliant solution to ensure he can still hear confession from parishioners.
According to a picture taken outside St Mark’s Church in Tallaght, the local priest has taken to setting up his confession booth in the car park outside the church..
In the images posted online, two chairs can be seen positioned a safe distance away from one another, under a cross.
A woman in a pink coat can even be seen speaking to the priest - so it's obviously doing the trick.
Meanwhile the photos also include one detailed the opening times for the new service.
According to a sandwich board snapped in the collection of photos shared online by viral video Sir Stevo Timothy, confession is being offered daily from 11am to 12pm and 3-4pm.
The new car park confessional is already the talk of the Catholic community.
And while plenty are seeing the funny side, many appear to admire the priest's efforts to stick to the rules and serve his followers.
The funniest thing I've ever seen in my life! Carpark confessions up in Dublin 😂😂 it's like something straight out of Father Ted!!
Thanks to @RisquePat pic.twitter.com/fS87QU3bRq— Stevo Timothy (@SirStevoTimothy) May 3, 2020
“Ok ….This looks funny but in these strange times if this provides comfort for some in a safe environment then I would say well done," one person wrote.
“Whether your religious or not, that kind of thing is what makes Ireland great,” another said.
“No wonder we are all craiced.”
A third one, meanwhile said: “Fair play to who ever came up with this idea. If it makes 1 persons like better.”
Many felt the confessional was like something out of the hit sitcom “Father Ted” - and they weren’t wrong.
The show’s co-creator Graham Linehan even got in on the act, replying to the original tweet with: “I think that's great! Proper priesting!”
In addition to car park confessions, the church is live-streaming mass on its Facebook page to provide guidance and comfort to the local community.
