Pope: Priests can pardon abortion
They can absolve women for act, but it’s still seen as sin
CATANIA, Italy — In a further sign of his emphasis on mercy, Pope Francis declared Tuesday that all priests, during a special holy year starting in December, will have the authority to pardon women who have had abortions, a power usually reserved for bishops.
The move came three weeks before the pontiff’s scheduled visit to the United States, where abortion remains a hot-button social and political issue.
The new directive may not change much in practical terms in the U.S., where, according to one analyst, most bishops have already delegated the power to absolve for abortion to the rank-and-file priests below them. But Francis’ announcement accords with his bid to make the Roman Catholic Church a more accessible vehicle of tenderness and grace.
In a letter, the pontiff wrote that he had 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
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The Jubilee Year, which starts in December, is traditionally a time when Catholics can seek redemption from their sins by visiting St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Such holy years are normally celebrated every quarter of a century, but popes are allowed to call special ones. The last was in 2000, during St. John Paul II’s reign.
Francis did not deviate from church teaching that abortion is a serious sin with grave consequences, including, potentially, excommunication.
“The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails,” he wrote.
But of women who have had abortions, he said: “I am well-aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision.”
The shift in tone comports with previous statements that Francis, the first pope from South America, has made on gays and lesbians and on divorcees who remarry. While many have welcomed his approach, it rankles some conservative Catholics, including fiercely anti-abortion bishops in the U.S., who believe their leader is soft-pedaling sin.
The Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, denied that the pontiff was downplaying the issue.
“Forgiveness of the sin of abortion does not condone abortion nor minimize its grave effects,” Rosica said. “The newness is clearly Pope Francis’ pastoral approach.”
Robert Gahl, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, agreed that the pope’s action did not represent a move away from traditional church teaching and practice. John Paul also put out a teaching during his papacy about the mercy that repentant women who have had abortions could expect from God.
“He didn’t abolish the crime, and he didn’t change anything about church teaching. But he’s made it easier for not just the women, but for anyone who’s directly involved in effecting the abortion that the priest can release them from the penalty of that crime,” Gahl said.
Most bishops in the U.S. have already devolved the authority to forgive the sin of abortion to the clergy below them, Gahl said.
“It’s not even a big shift in terms of pastoral practice,” he said. “But it’s a very powerful sign of welcoming (people) back to the sacraments.”
A hint of the pope’s announcement Tuesday came back in May, when Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, said that a group of priests would fan out across the world during the holy year to absolve certain serious sins, including abortion.
Francis’ letter, which was addressed to Fisichella, went further by authorizing all priests to grant the pardon for abortion.
The Jubilee Year begins Dec. 8 and ends Nov. 20, 2016. Francis launched the special holy year with mercy as its guiding theme.