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Who am I to judge ... Pope Francis has given all priests the power to forgive women who have had abortions. Picture: AP Source: AP
POPE Francis will give all priests discretion to forgive women who have had abortions — a sin that usually results in excommunication — if they seek forgiveness during the Roman Catholic Church’s upcoming Holy Year of Mercy, the Vatican has announced.
The New York Post reports that normally only designated clergy and missionaries can formally forgive abortions, but the pontiff said in a letter published by the Vatican that all priests will be allowed to do so from December 8 to November 26.
“The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realising the extreme harm that such an act entails,†he wrote. “Many others, on the other hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe that they have no other option. I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision.â€
He described the “existential and moral ordeal†faced by women who have terminated pregnancies and said he had “met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision.â€
Forgiveness ... Women who repent for having abortions can be forgiven by local priests, Pope Francis says. Picture: Supplied Source: News Limited
Pope Francis, following the spirit of mercy he announced in March, noted that “the forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented.â€
“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,†he wrote.
In a remark that has become emblematic of his papacy, which seeks tolerance of taboo subjects, the pope asked “who am I to judge?†about a gay person who seeks God.
He has shown no intention of retracting the Church’s opposition to abortion — but has alarmed conservatives with his less forceful approach than his predecessors.
“This is by no means an attempt to minimise the gravity of this sin but to widen the possibility of showing mercy,†Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Reuters.
Deputy Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said that “for now†the change would apply only during the Holy Year.
Normally, only a bishop, missionary or the chief confessor of a diocese can formally forgive an abortion, Mr Benedettini told Reuters.
The Holy Year is one of the 1.2 billion-member church’s most important events, and sees faithful make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world.