Liam Neeson revealed that he stopped going to confession as a teenager after a humiliating experience with a priest.
At 15, the Taken actor confessed to having engaged in a private act, which led to a loud and embarrassing rebuke from the cleric. The priest, a visiting missionary from an African nation, scolded Neeson with a booming voice, attracting the attention of other churchgoers who were praying quietly.
Neeson, who was an altar boy at the time, had hoped the visiting priest would hear his confession because it was a significant occasion for him. Speaking on Conan O’Brien’s podcast ‘Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,’ the 71-year-old actor recounted the event, describing how the priest shouted phrases like, “The grass will grow over the palm of your hand before you’re 21! Stop that evil practice!”
The loud chastisement occurred just before Mass, with elderly women praying nearby who could hear everything. Neeson had even looked up the terminology online to ensure he confessed correctly.
That incident marked the last time Neeson ever went to confession. Raised Catholic and named after a local priest, Neeson later starred in the 2016 historical drama Silence, about Jesuit priests spreading Catholicism in Japan.
