Catholic Church Suspends Confessions, Sacraments for Those Near Death Only

Catholics in America can still praise God on laptops this Easter, but confessions will have to wait, as churches across the country put a pause on that ritual.

TMZ's learned several Catholic Church leaders in major U.S. cities are ordering confessions and other sacraments to be discontinued during the coronavirus pandemic.

Joseph Zwilling, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, tells us ... "All of our sacraments have been put on hold during this crisis," but adds there can be exceptions. Those include people who need a reading of their last rites ... or an emergency baptism.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has called off all regular penance services, too ... but appointments can be set with a priest for dying parishioners or other "extremely extraordinary" situations. Even in those cases, we're told proper social distancing rules must be followed. The Archdiocese of Boston is using the same guidelines.

In San Francisco and Miami, confessions are still being held ... but by appointment only. The Archdioceses in both cities tell us strict social distancing rules are in place, and a special confessional ensures safety, as well as confidentiality.

In Miami, they've benched all priests over 65 or with a compromised immune system.

And, this is interesting ... in New Orleans, some churches are doing confession drive-thrus. We're told parishioners drive up to a priest wearing a mask and gloves, keep a safe distance, and confess away.