Less than perfect Catholics can take heart - Pope John Paul explained yesterday how to get to heaven.
Over the past two weeks, the Pope has spoken about his views of the nature of heaven and hell. During his weekly general audience at the Vatican yesterday, he turned his attention to purgatory.
For those who have led a less than perfect life and are destined to do some time in purgatory 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," he said.
Pope John Pope echoed 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.
Purgatory "does not indicate a place, but a condition of life", he said.
"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 Pope urged the faithful to "offer up prayers and good works on behalf of our brothers and sisters in purgatory".