VATICAN CITY -- Less than perfect Catholics, take heart -- Pope John Paul explained how to get to heaven.
The pope turned his attention to purgatory in a recent general audience after telling the faithful over a two-week period about the nature of heaven and hell.For those who have led a less than perfect life and are destined to do some time in limbo after death, the stairway to heaven is easy to find, the pope said.
"Before we enter into God's Kingdom, every trace of sin within us must be eliminated, every imperfection in our soul must be corrected. This is exactly what takes place in purgatory."
Echoing his words on heaven and hell -- that they were a spiritual union with god or a rejection of him, respectively, not a paradise in the clouds or a fiery furnace -- he added:
"(Purgatory) does not indicate a place, but a condition of life. Those who, after death, live in this state of purification are already immersed in the love of Christ, which lifts them out of the residue of imperfection."
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the good go straight to heaven, serious sinners go straight to hell, and those who have not led perfect lives must serve some time in purgatory, an unpleasant waiting room for heaven.
The pope urged the faithful to "offer up prayers and good works on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Purgatory."