Pope gives priests permanent right to pardon abortion

Pope Francis declared that all priests would have the right permanently to forgive abortion, seen as a significant outreach by the Catholic Church to women. 

"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 an apostolic letter marking the end of the "Year of Mercy," which wound up Sunday.


The 79-year-old Argentine pontiff said, he had to "restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life."

On Sunday, as he brought the jubilee to an end by closing the bronze-panelled Holy Door in Saint Peter's Square, Francis gave an interview in which he called abortion "a horrendous crime."

But he said Monday 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.




- 'A powerful gesture' -




"But symbolically, it's been interpreted as a major gesture of outreach to women," he said.


"With this initiative, Pope Francis recalls the seriousness of abortion and the extraordinary strength of divine mercy to cure all human wounds," said Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, secretary general of the national conference of bishops.

The Pope's order amounts to a "powerful and significant gesture," he said in a statement.

- 'Handcrafted' mercy -


Critics have said his emphasis on mercy reduces the gravity of perceived sins, but the Pope said rigidly sticking to "the level of the law is equivalent to thwarting faith and divine mercy."

He also stressed that priests had to help members of their flock on a case by case basis, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach to "sinners," saying: "The works of mercy are 'handcrafted,' in the sense that none of them is alike."


The Pontiff, who has repeatedly called for "a poor Church for the poor," also said in the letter that he wants the Church to celebrate a World Day of the Poor in November each year.

Topics: Vatican , religion , pope , abortion