Trying to Exorcise Spiritual Recession

SOMERVILLE, Mass. —  A Franciscan friar is handing out coupons that give Roman Catholics who confess their sins 50% off their penance.

Saying he wanted to prevent a “spiritual recession,” Father Bede Ferrara said he got the idea after seeing people depressed by their economic woes.

“We tell people it’s tough to lose your job, it’s worse to lose a loved one, but it’s also worse to lose your courage,” Ferrara said. Ferrara said his goal is to “counteract the frustration, the hurting that’s going on in the world because many people have lost their money.”

The coupons allow a churchgoer who confesses and receives a penance of 30 Hail Marys, for example, to do only 15. They also ask for donations of canned food to the church if possible.