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| Pope Francis |
The power to hear and forgive abortion related confessions temporarily given to Roman Catholic Priests has been extended indefinitely.
Pope Francis on Monday extended the power to the priests, a power that was an exclusive preservation of Bishops and special confessions.
Francis made the announcement in a document known as an “apostolic letter” after Sunday’s close of the Church’s “Holy Year of Mercy”.
Pope Francis is known to have made the church more inclusive and forgiving under his papacy.
Francis had already temporarily granted the power to all priests to give what is known as “sacramental absolution” for abortion during the Holy Year, from Dec. 8 to Nov. 20.
But but the solemn tone of his words in Monday’s letter suggested that change would last for at least the rest of his papacy.
“I want to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life” but “there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with (God)”.
“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 provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended …,” he said.
In Roman Catholic teaching, abortion is such a serious sin that those who procure or perform it bring automatic excommunication on themselves as they are knowingly committing a sin the Church considers grave.
Pope Francis walks after closing the Holy Door to mark the closing of the Catholic Jubilee Year of Mercy at the in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Tiziana Fabi/Pool
In the past, only a bishop or a designated special confessor of a diocese could grant absolution for an abortion and lift excommunication.
Although bishops in some dioceses in developed countries such as the United States and Britain had already delegated this authority to parish priests, the old practice was still in effect in most of the world.
At a news conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who oversaw Holy Year activities, said the new norms applied to all Roman Catholics involved in an abortion, including the woman and medical staff.
He said that the absolution granted by any priest would also trigger the simultaneous lifting of excommunication. Previously in many places in the world, even if the absolution was granted by a priest, it was the bishop’s task to lift that.
Fisichella said canon (Church) law would now have to be changed to reflect the pope’s letter. Papal pronouncements of a pastoral or administrative nature and which do not touch basic Church doctrine are included automatically canon law updates.
Fisichella rejected suggestions that some people could see the move as putting abortion on the same level as lesser sins.
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