POPE ACCENTUATES IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSION

VATICAN, (CWNews.com) -- In an address to the members of the Apostolic Pentitentiary, Pope John Paul II has called attention to the benefits of the sacrament of Penance, pointing out that the sacrament can be used to an aid to the discernment of vocations.

Frequent confession, the Pope wrote, is "a real help along the path to holiness." He also observed that the spiritual direction offered by the confessor can be "the main instrument for discerning one's vocation."

The Pope added that when they choose candidates for the priesthood, Church leaders must be confident of the candidates' fitness for that vocation. A careful assessment of the candidates, he said, "is all the more necessary in the case of chastity, given that when the candidate receives Holy Orders he must live in perpetual celibacy."

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