TOPSHOTSA woman says confession to a priest at one of the 200 temporary confessionals set up at Madrid's Buen Retiro park on August 16, 2011. Act of faith ... a woman speaks to a priest at one of the 200 temporary confessionals set up in Madrid's Buen Retiro Park for World Youth Day. Photo: AFP
ROME: Hundreds of thousands of young people descending on Madrid this week for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day - which features processions, group prayers and a mass with Pope Benedict - are to get a ''special'' concession.
Church leaders have ordered that anyone during the event who confesses to having had an abortion - a sin punishable by excommunication - will be welcomed back into the Church.

''Normally, only certain priests have the power to lift such an excommunication but the local diocese has decided to give all the priests taking confession at the event this power,'' said the Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.
Two hundred white wooden confession booths have been set up in Madrid's Buen Retiro Park for the event, which started on Monday and runs until Sunday.
Father Lombardi denied the abortion deal was to attract waverers back to the Church.
''With so many young people attending there may be those who have had problems of this kind and it makes sense to reach out to them,'' he said.
The driving force behind the deal is the Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, who persuaded the Vatican to offer women who had had abortions access to ''the fruits of divine grace''.
About 1.5 million pilgrims will descend on the city during the World Youth Day celebrations. Young Catholics making the trip to Madrid will also gain a plenary indulgence - effectively a reduction in the time believers spend in purgatory after confessing and being absolved of their sins.
These concessions were once sold by priests, but now are granted on special occasions.
Guardian News & Media