Every cathedral should have a holy door as part of the year of mercy, the Bishops of England and Wales have said. After a week of “reflection and discussion”, the bishops said they “welcome wholeheartedly” Pope Francis’s initiatives for the Jubilee Year of the Mercy of God on December 8, among them installing a holy door at each cathedral and designated shrines. Holy doors, or porta santa, are normally sealed shut from the inside and only opened during Jubilee years, during which pilgrims pass through the doors to gain a plenary indulgence. The bishops said that the Jubilee Year should also find expression by encouraging Confession as “the Sacrament of the New Evangelisation” over the weekend of May 4 to 5 2016. They also stated that the year should involved “special attention for priests who show the merciful face of the Father through the sacramental ministry to people in their care” and also “provides a fruitful avenue of dialogue with other Christians, other religions and non-believers and that the practice of mercy teaches us tenderness for the world God has created”. The bishops also expressed their desire that all people exercise their democratic right to vote at next Thursday’s general election.