Nashville bishop discusses Catholic Church’s changing view on abortion

Pope Francis recently announced that priests will have discretion during the Roman Catholic Church’s Holy Year to formally forgive women who have abortions.

Deputy Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said that “for now” the change would apply only during the Holy Year.

The Catholic Church views abortion as a serious sin, punishable by excommunicating and expelling those guilty from the Church and condemning them to hell in the afterlife.

I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to allow all priests for the jubilee year to absolve of the sin of abortion those who procure it and who also seek forgiveness’.

“I’ve dealt with a number of women myself who have procured an abortion, and I know from those experiences how heavily it weighs upon their hearts”, Choby said.

Pope Francis will allow all Catholic priests to forgive women who have had abortions. It’s a move many in the New Orleans area said they support, including the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

It is not so much in the substance of what Francis is saying as it is in how he is saying it. On Tuesday in a letter, he made it easier for women who had abortions to return to the church. Pope’s decision will probably lead to more argument.

Excommunication, Cruz added, was applicable only on two occasions: effective abortion and attempt on the life of the Holy Father.

This isn’t the first time the Pope has acted as a maverick.

“I do think the pope is doing various things to highlight the call to be a Church of Mercy”, said Bishop Kevin Rhodes.

While Bishop Rhodes and several other bishops in the United States gave their priests the ability to absolve that sin long ago, Pope Francis is now extending that to every priest in the Church.

In June, he said in some cases divorce can be a moral necessity, despite the fact that dissolution of marriage is prohibited by the Catholic Church.

Now, in the “Year of Mercy”, priests will also have that power.

Rosangela Talib, a coordinator at the Sao Paulo-based group Catholics for the Right to Decide, welcomed the development but said, “it would be far more important if it didn’t have an expiration date”.

Catholics performing pilgrimages or good works during the Holy Year can traditionally gain indulgences, or the remission of punishment for sins, under certain conditions.