Pope allows all Catholic priests to ‘pardon’ abortions, a power previously reserved for bishops
Vatican City, Nov. 21: Pope Francis on Monday allowed all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a power previously reserved for bishops or special confessors.
Pope Francis, who has made a more inclusive and forgiving church a characteristic of his papacy, made the announcement in a document known as an “apostolic letter” after Sunday’s close of the Catholic Church’s “Holy Year of Mercy”.
“I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion,” the Pope wrote in the apostolic letter.
“The provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended,” he added.
He said he wanted to “restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life.”
He said that the end of the special year did not mean the end of mercy itself, and so-called sinners must be given a chance to repent. The Catholic Church considers abortion to be a sin.
“I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father,” Pope Francis said.
The forgiveness stretches not only to women who have abortions but those who carry them out or are involved in any way.