Bishops Release Penance Statement, Encourage Sacrament’s Use In Parishes For Lent

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops havereleased a statement encouraging Catholics to make going to confession asignificant part of their spiritual lives and to use this Lent as anopportunity to do so. God's Gift of Forgiveness: ThePastoral Exhortation on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation wasapproved by the full body of bishops during their annual Fall General Assemblyin Baltimore, November 13.

"Pope Benedict XVI and CardinalTimothy Dolan have both stressed the importance of confession in strengtheningour witness during the Year of Faith," said Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay,Wisconsin, chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "The bishops have made thisdocument available for easy distribution at the parish level this Lent, and theUSCCB has produced resources that will help engage Catholics and welcome themin their journey back to the sacrament."

Lent begins Wednesday, February 13.

The full text of the statement andthe links to resources for individual Catholics and diocesan and parish staffon the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation are available online at: www.usccb.org/confession

---

Keywords: confession, Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation,U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Lent, parishes,document, Bishop David Ricken, Evangelization and Catechesis, parish resources

# # # # #