The Catholic doctrine's stance on abortion is grave, and a woman who has committed the sin can be ex-communicated by the Church. But in a latest decree by Pope Francis, the pontiff asked its priests to grant absolution for the sin of abortion. The decree is to be observed during the Holy Year in 2016.
The announcement was released by the Vatican this week through Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who heads the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. Fisichella is also in charge of the organization of the pope's activities during the Holy Year, which will run from Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016, according to the Catholic News Service. The Holy Year's theme is widely centered on the church becoming less judgmental of its pious followers.
"The Church's very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love," reads the Pope's statement, which Fisichella relayed in a press conference, according to the Daily Mail.
"Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God's gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn ... the sacrament of reconciliation, in particular, must be rediscovered as a fundamental dimension of the life of grace," the Pope said back in 2014 in a statement during his visit to South Africa, and as reported by the Vatican press.
However, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, a strong defender of Catholic traditions, has his own call about the matter. "Regardless of this decision by the Pope, the church will continue to consider abortion a sin. I hope it does not cause confusion," he said via the La Nazione, an Italian daily, according to Irish Times.
"He is the pope of mercy and wants to show the benevolence of the church towards sinners. This does not cancel the sin of abortion," the cardinal clarified.
