A man and a woman who had sex in an Italian cathedral have told church officials they are sorry.
The pair, who have been charged with indecency, asked to meet Cesena Archbishop Antonio Lanfranchi to apologise for the act which forced him to hold a purification ceremony.
Their lawyer told a local paper the bishop forgave them during an hour-long encounter on Tuesday afternoon.
They ''felt better'' after ''getting it off their chests,'' the lawyer said.
The man, a 31-year-old labourer, and the woman, a 32-year-old teacher, were nabbed having oral sex in a confession box during seven o'clock Mass on Sunday June 1.
The lawyer said he would appeal for leniency on the grounds that the two goth-rock fans were ''very drunk'' after an all-night concert.
Contrary to earlier reports that the pair boasted they were atheists who regarded churches as places to have sex ''just like anywhere else,'' the man told the bishop he was a Catholic while the woman said she was agnostic.
Msgr Lanfranchi indicated during Friday's 'reparatory'' rite that he was open to a meeting with the couple.
''I don't know the protagonists of this indescribable act but I'd like to take them into my heart and understand,'' he said.
