Solid Proof The Vatican Listens To The Cavemen
I just knew the Pope read this blog!

A while back, I did a posting entitled "The Late, Great Sacrament of Confession". Here's the essence of the post, in the form of a quote from Andrew Santella of Slate.com;
Like most of the recent changes in the church, the shift occurred in the wake of the Vatican II reforms. The program of renewal for the church that emerged from the Vatican II council said almost nothing about penance and reconciliation. The church's emphasis after Vatican II seemed to be less on guilt and damnation and more on love and forgiveness. The sacrament was given its current kinder, gentler name—reconciliation. Which seemed to reduce the stakes: If priests rarely talked about going to hell anymore, why bother confessing to them?He's right. I broke out my copy of the Vatican II documents, and found that there are 25 references to "Reform of the liturgy", but only 11 to the Sacrament of Penance, and many of those were just passing references, at best.

And isn't it amazing (and freakin' sad) that Rome has to actually hold refresher courses on Confession? How many times have I pointed out that in more than a few "Novus Ordo" parishes, only a handful of souls actually partake of this particular Sacrament, but literally hundreds receive Holy Communion? Obviously, many of the Faithful don't believe in either;

a. The Real Presence.
b. Sin.

Here's some of the article from ABC News; (Emphasis mine)
Catholic Confessors Get Vatican Crash Course
With Confessions on the Wane, the Vatican Organizes a Refresher Course for Priests
By ANN WISE ROME, March 6, 2008— A crash course for priests who hear confessions is being held at the Vatican this week, as part of an effort to restore confidence in the practice among the Catholic faithful.

The sacrament of penance has been "in a serious state of difficulty" for years, said Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, organizer of the course and head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Church tribunal responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins. Quoting figures from the most recent Catholic survey on confessions, from 1998, Girotti said that about 30 percent of Italian Catholics believe there is no need for priests in confessionals, while 10 percent believe the presence of a priest "impedes direct dialogue with the Lord."

Many faithful also complained about the performance of priests during confession and believe the priests are unable to penetrate the mysteries of the conscience.

While admitting that the survey is dated, Girotti says the practice of penance, a sacrament "so fundamental for the health and sanctification of souls," is in continual decline. "The sense of sin has come unglued," he told ABC News.