Free Republic

Dubbed 'super confessors', for one year only they can absolve sins usually only pardoned by the pope himself. And on Wednesday over 1,000 of these "missionaries of mercy", handpicked by Pope Francis, were sent forth to win back the hearts of those who have left the Catholic Church and open the door to repentant sinners across the world. There are certain evils the Vatican ranks above other sins, from attempting to assassinate the pope to defiling the Eucharist -- the rite of consuming consecrated bread and wine in Church -- by spitting it out or using it in a...

Pope Francis has sent more than 1,000 priests on a global mission to forgive grave sins that normally only he, or a top Church official, may pardon. The Missionaries of Mercy, nicknamed the super-confessors, were given the special license for the Vatican's Jubilee year, which ends in November. Grave sins include defiling consecrated bread and wine, violating confessional secrecy, and plotting to kill a pope. ...