Auricular confession originated with the early heretics, especially with Marcion. Bellarmin speaks of it as something to be practiced. But let us hear what the contemporary writers have to say on the question:
"Certain women were in the habit of going to the heretic Marcion to confess their sins to him. But, as he was smitten with their beauty, and they loved him also, they abandoned themselves to sin with him."
Listen now to what St. Basil, in his commentary on Ps. xxxvii, says of confession:
"I have not to come before the world to make a confession with my lips. But I close my eyes, and confess my sins in the secret of my heart. Before thee, O God, I pour out my sighs, and thou alone art the witness. My groans are within my soul. There is no need of many words to confess: sorrow and regret are the best confession. Yes, the lamentations of the soul, which thou art pleased to hear, are the best confession."
Chrysostom, in his homily: De pænitentia, vol. IV., col. 901, has the following: "You need no witnesses of your confession. Secretly acknowledge your sins, and let God alone hear you."
In his homily V., De incomprehensibili Dei naturâ, vol. I, he says: "Therefore, I beseech you, always confess your sins to God! I in no way ask you to confess them to me. To God alone should you expose the wounds of your souls, and from him alone expect the cure. Go to him, then; and you shall not be cast off, but healed. For, before you utter a single word, God knows your prayer."
In his commentary on Heb. xii., hom. xxxi., vol. xii., p. 289, he further says: "Let us not be content with calling ourselves sinners. But let us examine and number our sins. And then, I do not tell you to go and confess them, according to the caprice of some; but I will say to you, with the prophet: "Confess your sins before God, acknowledge your iniquities at the feet of your Judge; pray in your heart and your mind, if not with your tongue, and you shall be pardoned."
In his homily on Ps. I., vol. V., p. 589, the same Chrysostom says: "Confess you sins every day in prayer. Why should you hesitate to do so? I do not tell you to go and confess to a man, sinner as you are, and who might despise you if he knew your faults. But confess them to God, who can forgive them to you."
In his admirable homily IV., De Lazaro, vol. I., p. 757, he explains: "Why, tell me, should you be ashamed to confess your sins? Do we compel you to reveal them to a man, who might, one day, throw them into your face? Are you commanded to confess them to one of your equals, who could publish them and ruin you? What we ask of you, is simply to show the sores of your soul to your Lord and Master, who is also your friend, your guardian and physician."
In a small work of Chrysostom's, intitled: "Catechesis ad illuminandos," vol. II., p. 210, we read these remarkable words: "What we should most admire, is not that God forgives our sins, but that he does not disclose them to any one, nor wishes us to do so. What he demands of us, is to confess our transgressions to him alone to obtain pardon."