Pope Francis is allowing all priests to absolve the “grave sin” of abortion, extending special permission he had granted them for the Holy Year of Mercy.
Francis wrote in Misericordia et Misera, an apostolic letter concluding the Year of Mercy, that “there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach”, while reiterating that “abortion is a grave sin”.
In his letter, Pope Francis formally gave all priests permanent permission to grant absolution to those who confess to having procured an abortion. Many bishops around the world, especially in the United States, routinely grant that faculty to all their priests. But without formal permission, priests had been required to consult their bishops before granting absolution to a woman who had an abortion or those directly involved in the procedure.
“I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion,” he wrote. “I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart . . . May every priest be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey.”
In the letter, released on Monday, the Pope also extended his Jubilee Year decree that allowed SSPX priests to hear valid confessions. “For the pastoral benefit of these faithful, and trusting in the good will of their priests to strive with God’s help for the recovery of full communion in the Catholic Church, I have personally decided to extend this faculty beyond the Jubilee Year.”
The Pope also created a World Day of the Poor to be held a week before the feast of Christ the King and reminded Catholics that mercy must last a lifetime.
Pope says criticisms of Amoris are ‘ideological’
Pope Francis has criticised “a certain legalism” in reactions to Amoris Laetitia after four cardinals wrote a letter to him asking for clarification of the document.
In an interview with Avvenire, an Italian Catholic newspaper, he said some people “continued not to understand, [seeing] issues as white or black, even though it is in the course of life that we are called to discern”.
The Pope said the Second Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium “shifted the axis of Christian understanding from a kind of legalism, which can be ideological, to the person of God, who became mercy in the Incarnation of the Son”.
He added: “The Council told us this, but historians say that a century needs to pass before a council is properly assimilated into the body of the Church … We are half way.”
In a letter to the Pope, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller and Cardinal Joachim Meisner submitted five dubia – a traditional way of asking for clarification. They asked if certain Church teachings about Communion and the moral law, which Amoris Laetitia discusses ambiguously, were still valid. These included the doctrine that the divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion unless living as brother and sister.
The letter was sent in September. The Pope did not reply, so the cardinals published the letter to continue the debate in public.
In an interview with Vatican journalist Edward Pentin, Cardinal Burke said that if the Pope remained silent, it might be necessary to issue a “formal act of correction of a serious error”.
“It is the duty in such cases, and historically it has happened, of cardinals and bishops to make clear that the Pope is teaching error and to ask him to correct it.” One example is John XXII in the 1330s, who taught that souls in heaven would only see God at the Final Judgment.
American Church leaders clash over papal exhortation
Two American Church leaders have clashed over the implementation of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
Archbishop Charles Chaput issued guidelines for his own archdiocese of Philadelphia, in which he says that the divorced and remarried should be treated with mercy. He also restates the Church’s teaching that they may not receive Communion unless they endeavour to live as brother and sister.
But Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the new Vatican dicastery for laity, family and life, told Catholic News Service: “I don’t share the view of what Archbishop Chaput did, no.
“It is better to say to the couple, ‘Let’s work together and let’s walk together,’ as Pope Francis would say, ‘through this process and see how far we arrive.’ ”
The Catholic Church cannot react by “closing the doors before we even listen to the circumstances and the people,” he said. “That’s not the way to go.”
In response, Archbishop Chaput said: “I wonder if [Cardinal Farrell] actually read and understood the Philadelphia guidelines he seems to be questioning. The guidelines have a clear emphasis on mercy and compassion. This makes sense because individual circumstances are often complex.
Life is messy. But mercy and compassion cannot be separated from truth and remain legitimate virtues.”
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