Forgive Me Father, For I Have Littered

The latest thing in trendy Catholic confessions:

Forgotten to recycle any newspapers or tin cans recently? Feeling guilty because you neglected to carbon offset your flight to somewhere, anywhere, outside England this summer?

The Roman Catholic Church is at hand with a new line in “green confessions” to help eco-sinners to find forgiveness.

Dom Anthony Sutch, the Benedictine monk who resigned as head of Downside School to become a parish priest in Suffolk, will be at the county’s Waveney Greenpeace festival this weekend to hear eco-confessions in what is thought to be the first dedicated confessional booth of its kind.

Vested in a green chasuble-style garment made from recycled curtains, and in a booth constructed of recycled doors, he will hear the sins of of those who have not recycled the things they ought to have done and who have consumed the things they ought not to have done.

When I read the term "recycled curtains" I can't help but think of the old Carol Burnett spoof of Gone With the Wind when she walks down the stairs wearing the curtains, rod and all. When asked about her outfit she tells Harvey Korman that she "saw it in the window and just couldn't resist".