Pope Benedict XVI took the unusual step on Thursday of personally hearing the confessions of several youths from the Rome diocese during a pre-Easter celebration in the Vatican.
Benedict was one of over 50 priests and prelates who simultaneously confessed the thousands of young Catholics who crowded into St Peter's basilica for a mass led by the pope himself.
Wearing a purple stole around his neck like a regular parish priest, he urged the young people to live chaste lives and to go to confession regularly.
When the prayers and ceremonies were over, the 79-year-old pontiff put on his glasses and stepped into one of the dark wooden cubicles in the basilica to hear some of the young people tell him their sins.
Some of those present appeared to have worries similar to the pope's. One youngster reciting a public prayer asked for divine assistance in order "not to have sexual relations before marriage".
Others spoke of various vices such as "acting the victim", "envy pretending to be healthy competitivity" and the "avarice" of people who work on Sundays.
