Pope Francis to allow all Catholic priests to forgive abortions

Women who have had abortions and seek absolution can receive forgiveness for their sin.

During the upcoming Holy Year, Pope Francis will allow all priests to forgive women who seek absolution and have had abortions. The pope proceeds with his "year of mercy" by opening up this opportunity.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - By expanding the number of priests who can hear these women's confessions, the pope is not condoning abortion. According to Francis, abortion is a "tragedy" that is "experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails."

"The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father," Pope Francis wrote in a letter to the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. "For this reason too, I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to concede to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it."

The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is a sin "that could be grounds for excommunication." However, abortion could already be formally forgiven by the chief confesseor of a diocese, according to Rev. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman. Francis has decided for the Jubilee Year of Mercy to expand the rights of priests.

"I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision," Francis continued in his letter, according to the Vatican. "What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope."

"This is a typical Francis move in that way," stated Chad Pecknold, a theologian at Catholic University. "This is a dead serious sin, but I'm not going to emphasize the sin part," he interpreted the pope as saying, according to the Washington Post.

This decision will be another one of Pope Francis' moves that receive mixed reviews from the Catholic community. Some see this new calling as "downplaying the sin of abortion by advertising primarily the availability of confession and forgiveness," according to the Washington Post.

"Forgiveness of the sin of abortion does not condone abortion nor minimize its grave sinfulness. The newness is clearly Pope Francis' pastoral approach. Many bishops have granted priests permission to forgive the sin. The fact that this statement is coming from the Pope and in such a moving, pastoral way, is more evidence of the great pastoral approach and concern of Pope Francis," explained Rev. Thomas Rosica, an English language spokesman for the Vatican. "That people come to confession today to confess abortion and other grave sins is cause for us in the Church to thank God and to put into practice the mission of the good and merciful shepherd who came to seek out those who were lost."

"With the whole Planned Parenthood thing, a lot of Catholics threw up their hands and said: 'Why isn't the Holy Father saying anything?' This is him saying something. He is saying: Abortion is a grave sin," explained Pecknold.

According to the Washington Post and a 2013 Pew Research Center poll, 53 percent of white American Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, with 41 percent saying it should be illegal. In Hispanic Catholics, 43 percent say abortion should be legal, and 52 percent say it should be illegal.

"The fact that this guy would try to make an effort to say, on the issue of abortion, we can sit down together, it doesn't change the injustice of the hierarchy's position, but I think that's profoundly important," expressed Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online