By Regis Martin, Crisis Magazine - The pope said priests can "never deny absolution." Is this true? Absolutely not... Canon Law, by the way, is perfectly clear about all this, stating that in order for penitents to obtain “the saving remedy of the sacrament of penance, they must be so disposed that, repudiating the sins they have committed and having the purpose of amending their lives, they turn back to God” (Canon 987).