Pope offers forgiveness for abortions
THE Pope has ordered an army of priests to travel the world offering women pardons for having abortions – normally a sin punishable by excommunication from the Catholic Church.
The initiative, which will only run during a Holy Year of Mercy planned by the Pope starting in December, will also extend pardons to doctors and nurses who carry out abortions, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation.
Fisichella, who is organising the holy year, claimed that the Pope’s plan was ‘‘a tangible sign of how a priest should be a man of pardon, close to everyone’’.
The move reflects the Pope’s determination to extend his mercy to people traditionally frowned upon by the church. He famously replied ‘‘Who I am to judge?’’ when asked about homosexuals in 2013 and is pushing to allow communion for divorcees who remarry outside the church.
Pardons for abortion can be given in the Catholic Church, but normally only by bishops or certain priests, on grounds such as rape.
The exception has been made as part of the holy year, which the Pope has described as an ‘‘oasis of mercy’’.
It will start after a key synod of bishops, to be held at the Vatican in October, which will debate the Church’s stand on family issues.
Announcing the holy year last month, the Pope said that he would be giving the authority to pardon so-called ‘‘reserved’’ sins to ‘‘missionaries of mercy’’ – priests who would fan out throughout the world during the year.
This week, Fisichella confirmed that one of those sins would be abortion.
A Vatican spokesman said yesterday that the church’s view on abortion was not changing. ‘‘There are a number of clergy with the ability to pardon abortions already; it is not that rare,’’ Father Federico Lombardi said.
Church officials, however, have been known to toe the hard line. In 2009, Catholic officials in Brazil refused to give permission for an abortion to a girl, 9, raped by her stepfather, despite doctors’ fears that she would not survive giving birth.
The initiative is also bound to raise eyebrows among conservative Catholics who have already objected to the Pope’s focus on mercy over judgment.
Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, an Italian, warned that the pardons could create confusion among Catholics. ‘‘Regardless of this decision by the Pope, the church will continue to consider abortion a sin,’’ he said.