Confess all for the Millennium

Organisers of the Oxford-based Clean Slate Campaign want one million people to divulge misdeeds before the year 2000, so they can start the next 1,000 years leaving their "sins" behind them.

The scheme claims cross-denominational support from a number of different churches and aims to address people of all faiths.

The charity's organiser, Edward Peters, is asking people to write down their wrong-doings and send them to a PO Box number in Oxford. These would then be printed in the group's newsletter and on their Internet website.

Mr Peters said: "We accept that the idea is a bit like confession in the Catholic church but our idea doesn't have to be a religious one, or replace religion. If people do write to us, they can still go to confession.

"People can write to us on an anonymous basis if they want to, or give us their names.

"I got this idea several years ago when I discovered that some old friends thought I had bad-mouthed them behind their back.

"I apologised to them and we patched up our differences. I felt much better afterwards and I want people to leave their baggage behind them."

Christopher Morgan, spokesman for the campaign, said the key objective was to get people "to be nice to each other". The organisation, which has already distributed 55,000 Clean Slate leaflets, has a diverse list of high-profile patrons, ranging from Cardinal Basil Hume to former Scottish rugby captain Gavin Hastings.

In Oxford, the campaign is supported by the Rev Dr Nigel Biggar, fellow and chaplain at Oriel College, and Timothy Garton Ash, historian at St Antony's College.

However, campaigners said they would be duty bound to hand over any confessions about major crimes to the police.

The campaign can be contacted at PO Box Oxford, OX2 7WA. Their website address is www.cleanslate.org

Story date: Saturday 24 April

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