What's Jewish And Catholic About Confession?

        In October 1973, prior to my conversion to Catholicism, at seventy-five years young, I chose a pen name (Lois Samuels) when writing "A Jewess Looks At The Confessional." I saw then and see now the confessional as a personal sanctuary in a computerized society, an individual confrontation with God, which offers man a unique relationship. In Hebrew, the Jewish-confessor's high priestly function was called Avodah (awesome task). Could we not apply this Hebrew definition to that of a current day Catholic confessor's function?