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Perfect absolution to a sinful time on Fringe

They say the Devil has all the best tunes, but three Edinburgh priests are determined he won't have it all his own way at the Fringe this summer.

The trio are hoping to attract weary Festival-goers into the confession box by offering their services to anyone who wants to unburden their soul.

In an effort to reach as many people as possible, they are advertising their offer in the Fringe programme under the title Confession Is Good For The Soul.

The priests are happy to welcome anyone - whatever their religious persuasions - at St Patrick's Church, in the Cowgate, even though confession is usually only offered to Catholics.

They hope the event will help to "de-mystify" the ancient tradition and show it can be used as a modern form of spiritual therapy.

Visitors to the church will be offered a brief one-to-one talk with a priest, where they can divulge as much - or as little - as they want before heading back out to enjoy the Festival.

Father Ed Hone - who belongs to the religious order of Redemptorist missionaries - said he wanted people to have the chance to see if confession worked for them.

He said: "Unless you are a Catholic, there's very little information about confession and it is usually portrayed in a very mysterious way in a lot of literature and cinema.

"We wanted to offer other people the chance to see what it is all about and give them an opportunity to have a private, confidential session.

"Many people carry around a lot of emotional baggage and most of us have burdens or shameful things that we are not proud of. Some people may have never spoken about these things to anyone before, and are keeping them locked up inside."

Full story at the Edinburgh Evening News.