Pope Francis has given priests the authorisation to forgive abortion during the Roman Catholic Church’s upcoming Holy Year of Mercy.
In a letter issued by the Vatican on Tuesday, the Pope said “The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails.
“Many others, on the other hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe that they have no other option. I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision.”
The Pope said he had “met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision.”
“For this reason too, I have 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 heart, seek forgiveness for it,” he wrote.
In Roman Catholicism, Abortion is a grave offence that can be punished by excommunication.
Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Reuters that “this is by no means an attempt to minimize the gravity of this sin but to widen the possibility of showing mercy.”