Pope: Catholics May Now Confess Directly to God Without a Priest Present

BIN: A Vatican tribunal issued a notice last week stating that due to the pandemic, Catholics need not meet with a priest to be given absolution for their sins. “This Apostolic Penitentiary holds that, especially in places most impacted by the pandemic contagion and until the phenomenon subsides, there are cases of grave necessity” meeting the criteria for general absolution, the notice about confession said. The Apostolic Penitentiary, is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues