Between Oprah and the therapist's couch, is there any role left for the church confession?

Noting that the number of Catholics taking part in the key rite has plunged, the Archdiocese of Washington launched its biggest marketing blitz, using ads on buses, subway cars, a Route 301 billboard, 100,000 brochures and radio spots in an effort to get people back to the confessional.

The unusual campaign — its slogan is "The Light is On for You" — highlights the church's alarm that Catholics are ignoring a fundamental ritual meant to keep them holy and close to God.

Priests and sociologists of Catholicism have theorized about the drop for years. Is it because of a culture that tells us we aren't responsible for what we do wrong? Or could it be something less dark: that the traditional Saturday confession time has simply been gobbled up by youth soccer leagues and errand-mania? Or maybe something more dark: that we don't even know what sin is anymore?

"People go online and confess all sorts of things, but they don't do it in a way of apology. And it's very hard to verbalize what you did wrong," said archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs, letting loose an admission of her own: "That's why I like to go when I'm in Rome; because I won't know anyone."

The campaign by Archbishop, Donald Wuerl started with Lent, the 40-day period of reflection and penitence. Parishes distributed 100,000 brochures, with rules for the rusty, complete with a pop-out, wallet-size card ("Step 3: Confess all of your sins to the priest. If you are unsure or uneasy, tell him and ask for help."). All 140 churches in the archdiocese are open for confession from 7 to 8:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Lent.

In Hawai'i, a drop in confessions has been apparent since the '60s; parishes responded by holding penance services at the beginning of Lent or Advent, diocesan officials said.

"We have regular confessions and we have good numbers of people who make weekly and some who make monthly confessions," said the Rev. Michel Dalton, pastor of St. Elizabeth Church of 'Aiea. "The Lenten and Advent services have usurped the normal Saturday afternoon (confessions). That has gone down in general, but I still think there are a good number who make use of the sacrament. I don't think we're ever going to be without sinners."

Elsewhere, parishes have been cutting back the time they set aside for confessions for years; many now allot only 30- or 45-minute blocks or ask for appointments. Years ago, lines at confessionals were long and priests listened for hours.

Also known as the sacrament of reconciliation, confession involves several mandatory steps: being sincerely contrite, articulating to a priest (who stands in the place of Jesus) what was done wrong, apologizing, receiving an assigned penance and being forgiven.

The process has been evolving for centuries. In the 1500s, churches began using screens to protect parishioners' privacy and physical space from priests, said Monsignor Kevin Irwin, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University.

In the ancient church, punishments were sometimes public. Sinners were ordered to do such things as long-term fasts and in some places were seated separately or banned from the church during communion. Today penances can involve the traditional order to recite (and re-recite) prayers, telling a busy parent to spend more time with a child, or mandating a nature hike for perspective on God's creation.

But the biggest changes, church historians say, came in the 1960s, when clergy began preaching more about the sins of racism, militarism and environmental degradation. The '60s also brought the Second Vatican Council, which said, among many other things, that eating meat on Friday was no longer a sin.

Priests began talking about sin in different terms, and Catholics wondered: What is it I'm supposed to confess? said Boston College professor James O'Toole, who wrote a social history of confession. The sacrament has "virtually disappeared," he said.

After Vatican II, "the whole idea was changed, it became a much more positive thing, less emphasis on fault and more on improvement," said Mary Gautier, a researcher with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

Vatican II also made a slight change in the confession rite that emphasized a moment at the start of Mass in which parishioners, together, take a moment of penance.

"I think people misunderstood and thought they no longer had to go to confession," said Lawrence Cunningham, a University of Notre Dame theology professor.

Clergy say the rise in therapy and self-help may be a contributing factor in the decline in Catholics' going to confession. And though they praise the advancement of mental healthcare, they also worry that people are forgetting that confession involves more than, well, confessing.

Spokesperson Gibbs said watching Internet pornography is the most commonly unloaded baggage to priests, who have been protected under civil law from having to reveal confessions.

Hawai'i information in this report was provided by Mary Kaye Ritz, Advertiser religion and ethics writer.