Pope reminds Catholics of need to go to confession

Published: 2005-03-14

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics must remember that they may not receive Communion if they have committed a serious sin and have not gone to confession, Pope John Paul II said. In the year the church has dedicated to the Eucharist, it is important to remind people of the importance of going to confession, the pope said in a message sent from Rome's Gemelli hospital. The pope's message, released at the Vatican March 12, was addressed to priests taking a course at the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with matters related to confession and questions of conscience. "Only one who has a sincere awareness of not having committed a mortal sin can receive the body of Christ," the pope said in his message.

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