The Church will absolve you

Sir Tokyo Sexwale · August 16, 2011

oh, so if you genuinely repent, usually it's tough s***, but in this case it's fine. And also if you repent a day before or after - tough s*** again

Hundreds of thousands of young people descending on Madrid this week for the Catholic church's World Youth Day – which features processions, group prayers and a mass with Pope Benedict XVI – are to get a "special" concession.

Church leaders have ordered that anyone confessing, during this event, to having had an abortion – a sin punishable by excommunication – will be welcomed back into the church.

"Normally, only certain priests have the power to lift such an excommunication, but the local diocese has decided to give all the priests taking confession at the event this power," said the pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.

Two hundred white wooden confession booths have been set up in Madrid's Buen Retiro park for the event, which started on Tuesday and runs until Sunday.

At a time when church attendances in Europe are dipping Lombardi denied the deal on abortion had been dreamed up to attract waverers back to the church. "With so many young people attending there may be those who have had problems of this kind and it makes sense to reach out to them."

The driving force behind the deal is the archbishop of Madrid, Antonio María Rouco Varela, who persuaded the Vatican to offer women who had had abortions access to "the fruits of divine grace that will open the doors to a new life".

After his popemobile ride through Madrid on Thursday, the pontiff will sit in one of the booths Saturday morning to hear confessions from three visitors, before holding a mass for up to 6,000 seminarians.

religion is awesome

Edited August 16, 2011 by Macca

Cheesecake · August 17, 2011

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