Pope’s decree on abortion may signal change in tone, not practice

CATANIA, Italy – In a further sign of his emphasis on mercy, Pope Francis declared Tuesday that all priests, during a special holy year starting in December, will have the authority to pardon women who have had abortions, a power usually reserved for bishops.

The move came three weeks before the pontiff’s scheduled visit to the United States, where abortion remains a hot-button social and political issue.

The new directive may not change much in practical terms in the U.S., where, according to one analyst, most bishops have already delegated the power to absolve for abortion to the rank-and-file priests below them. But Francis’ announcement accords with his bid to make the Roman Catholic Church a more accessible vehicle of tenderness and grace.

In a letter, the pontiff wrote that he had 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.”

The Jubilee Year, which starts in December, is traditionally a period during which Catholics can seek redemption from their sins by visiting St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Such holy years are normally celebrated every quarter of a century, but popes are allowed to call special ones. The last was in 2000, during John Paul II’s reign.

Francis did not deviate from church teaching that abortion is a serious sin with grave consequences, including, potentially, excommunication.

“The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails,” he wrote.

But of women who have had abortions, he said: “I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision.”

The shift in tone comports with previous statements that Francis, the first pope from South America, has made on gays and lesbians and on divorcees who remarry. While many have welcomed his approach, it rankles some conservative Catholics, including fiercely anti-abortion bishops in the U.S., who believe their leader is soft-pedaling sin.

Father Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, rejected criticism that the pontiff was downplaying the issue.

“Forgiveness of the sin of abortion does not condone abortion nor minimize its grave effects,” Rosica said. “The newness is clearly Pope Francis’ pastoral approach.”

Robert Gahl, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, agreed that the pope’s move did not represent a move away from traditional church teaching and practice. John Paul II also put out a teaching during his papacy about the mercy that repentant women who have had abortions could expect from God.

“He didn’t abolish the crime, and he didn’t change anything about church teaching. But he’s made it easier for not just the women but for anyone who’s directly involved in effecting the abortion that the priest can release them from the penalty of that crime,” Gahl said.

Most bishops in the U.S. have already devolved the authority to forgive the sin of abortion to the clergy below them, Gahl said.

“It’s not even a big shift in terms of pastoral practice,” he said. “But it’s a very powerful sign of welcoming (people) back to the sacraments.”

A hint of the pope’s announcement Tuesday came back in May, when Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, said that a group of priests would fan out across the world during the holy year to absolve certain serious sins, including abortion.

Francis’ letter, which was addressed to Fisichella, went further by authorizing “all priests” to grant the pardon for abortion.

Abortion remains a controversial topic for Catholics in various countries around the world, not just the U.S. In Brazil, Catholic officials outraged many in 2009 when they refused permission to a 9-year-old girl to abort her pregnancy, even though she had been raped by her stepfather and doctors feared she would die during childbirth.

Ireland, which recently approved same-sex marriage in a national referendum, still adopts a restrictive approach toward abortion.

The Jubilee Year begins on Dec. 8 and ends Nov. 20, 2016. Francis took many by surprise by launching a special holy year off the usual schedule, with mercy as its guiding theme.

In the papal bull last March announcing the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis said the time would be “dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy” that God “constantly extends to all of us.”

“Mercy is the very foundation of the church’s life,” Francis said. “The church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.”

During the year, bricked-up “holy doors” in Rome’s four basilicas, including St Peter’s, are opened, granting pilgrims a special route to salvation, before they are closed once again at the end of the Jubilee Year.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.